The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Tuesday proceeded to the draw for the next African Cup of Nations at the Yaoundé Convention Centre in Cameroon.
Cameroon put on a great spread welcoming a ceremony rich in sounds and colours. Fifty years after the 1972 African Cup of Nations played on its soil, the country of Roger Milla and Samuel Eto’o will host the great mass of continental football from 9 January to 6 February 2022.
The Indomitable Lions, five-time winners of the tournament, are lodged in Group A and will face Burkina Faso in the opening match. Six stadiums will be used for the 52 matches of the competition: Japoma (Douala), Ahmadou Ahidjo and Olembe (Yaoundé), Kouekong (Bafoussam), Roumdjié-Adja (Garoua) and Limbe Omnisport Stadium (Limbe-Buea).
Defending champions Algeria are in Group E with Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire. While runner ups of the last edition Senegal inherited Zimbabwe, Guinea and Malawi.
AfCON full draw:
Group A: Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Cabo Verde.
Group B: Senegal, Zimbabwe, Guinea, Malawi.
Group C: Morocco, Ghana, Comoros, Gabon.
Group D: Nigeria, Egypt, Sudan, Guinea Bissau.
Group E: Algeria, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire.
Group F: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Gambia.
ID/lb/abj/APA