Afcon 2023 Qualifiers: Super Eagles get opponents today, Falcons to know Morocco 2022 group foes next week
Nigeria is among the 12 teams in Pot 1 – the teams that will head the 12 qualification groups
After a disappointing Afcon 2021 campaign in Cameroon and failure to qualify for Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Super Eagles will know their group opponents when the draw for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification series is staged at the SuperSport Studio in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday evening.
The event will commence at 6.30 pm Nigeria time (which is 7.30 pm in South Africa).
A total of 48 teams will be divided into 12 groups of four teams each.
Nigeria is among the 12 teams in Pot 1 – the teams that will head the 12 qualification groups.
Others in Pot 1 are reigning champions Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Cameroon, Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cote d’Ivoire. Cote d’Ivoire’s participation will be only for formality sake.
Being in the same pot guarantees that none of these teams can be in the same group during the qualification campaign that will last between June 2022 and March 2023. The first two matchdays are in June, with two other matchdays in September and the final two matchdays to take place in March 2023.
In Pot 2 are South Africa, Cape Verde, Guinea, Gabon, Benin Republic, Uganda, Zambia, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Kenya and Sierra Leone.
Pot 3 comprises of Namibia, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Niger Republic, Libya, Mozambique, Malawi, Togo, Zimbabwe, The Gambia, Angola and Comoros.
Tanzania, Central African Republic, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Liberia, South Sudan and Sao Tome & Principe make up Pot 4.
Kenya and Zimbabwe, who have been suspended by FIFA from all football activities globally, will also be included in the draw despite their temporary bans.
However, if the suspension is not lifted two weeks before their first matchday of the qualifiers, both associations will be considered as losers and eliminated from the competition.
Consequently, their groups will be composed of three teams with the first and runner-up teams of those groups qualifying for the final tournament.
As a result of that decision, Kenya and Zimbabwe cannot be drawn in the same group in order to avoid having one group with only two teams in case the suspension on both associations is not lifted.
In the draw to be conducted by the CAF Director of Competitions Samson Adamu and assisted by African football legends Lucas Radebe of South Africa and Ivorian Solomon Kalou, the first ball will be drawn from Pot 4 and will go to position A4.
Meanwhile, the Super Falcons will know their group phase opponents at the 12th Women Africa Cup of Nations when the draw is staged on Monday, 25th April 2022.
Nigeria won the first edition of the Women Africa Cup of Nations (then known as the African Women Championship) staged in the country in 1998, and has won seven other championships.
The only times the Super Falcons did not emerge victorious in the history of the competition were when the tournaments were staged in Equatorial Guinea, in 2008 and 2012.
This year’s tournament in Morocco, 2nd – 23rd July comes with added impetus as the four semi-finalists will represent Africa at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Australia/New Zealand.
