Road to Cote d’Ivoire 2023 kicks off as Chad host Gambia, Qatar 2022 final Draw hold Saturday

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has kick-started activities for the next Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) billed for Cote d’Ivoire in 2023 as the preliminary round draw was made on Friday in Douala, Cameroon. The draw marks the kickoff towards the 34th edition of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations tagged, Cote d’Ivoire 2023.

The former Indomitable Lions defender and captain Rigobert Song and Nigeria Super Eagles former star Emmanuel Amuneke assisted CAF Director of Competitions Samson Adamu in the draw process, that included the 12 least ranked teams in Africa. They include tiny nations like Somalia, Sao Tome & Principe, Lesotho and Eswatini .

The six aggregate winners will join the 42 highest ranked teams into the Group Stage of the qualifiers. Below is the Preliminary Round Pairings :

Eritrea v Botswana                                                                                                                                                                                   Sao Tome & Principe v Mauritius

Djibouti v South Sudan

Seychelles v Lesotho

Somalia v Eswatini

Chad v Gambia

Former African Best Footballer of the Year, Emmanuel Amuneke of Nigeria assisted in the Draw in Douala

Meanwhile, The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, African qualifiers Third Round draw will hold on Saturday, January 2022 in Douala, Cameroon. The draw will start at 16:00 local time (15:00 GMT, 17:00 CAT), and will be live on CAF platforms.

The 10 qualified teams will be divided into two levels based on the official FIFA ranking, published in 19 November 2021 as follows:

Level 1: Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Nigeria

Level 2: Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali and DR Congo

The five highest ranked teams will play against the five least ranked teams (the first leg will be played at home of the lower ranked teams).