Africa to know 2023 AFCON group stage teams this week

On Thursday, October 12, 2023, Africa will know the group stage opponents for the next edition of the Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to be held between January and February 2024 in Ivory Coast. The competition, Africa’s biggest football showpiece, was initially scheduled to be held in the summer of 2023, but unfavourable weather conditions in the West African country denied the stakeholders and tournament organizers to go ahead with the plan.

This forced the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to reschedule the final qualification games from March 2023 till September, when the qualification games were completed and all 24 teams unveiled.

The draw is scheduled for Thursday, October 12, at the Parc des Expositions d’Abidjan in Abidjan in, the host country. The draw will start at 19.00 West African Time, 22.00 East Africa Time, and 21:00 South Africa Time and will be broadcast live on Caf’s YouTube Channel.

Some of the teams in the running include defending champions Senegal, 2022 FIFA World Cup semifinalists Morocco, three-time winners Nigeria, the hosts Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Ghana, amongst others. Already, the excitement is building up as Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro has revealed his target for the competition.

“Our target since we started was to win the AFCON. We have already qualified, and we are looking forward to the competition. We have a lot of good players in the team; they are hungry to do well. We will work hard to win the next AFCON.” Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro said.

The Super Eagles finished in round 16 of the last competition, losing to Tunisia 1-0 after getting out of the group stage.

THE DIFFERENT POTS

Pot 1: Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt

Pot 2: Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Cong DR

Pot 3: South Africa, Cape Verde, Guinea, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania

Pot 4: Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Gambia, Tanzania.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu