The first preliminary draws for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations 2023 edition slated to hold in Côte d’Ivoire were held on Friday in Douala, Cameroon.
The draws had two legends Rigobert Song who featured in eight Africa Cup of Nations finals (1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010) winning the competition twice in 2000 and 2002 with Cameroon alongside Amunike, the former midfielder of the Super Eagles won the AFCON in 1994 and was also part of the ‘golden generation team that claimed the Olympic gold medal in 1996 with Nigeria as draws assistants.
The draws had the 12 lowest-ranked teams placed in two different pots.
Pot one contains teams who are ranked higher in a defending order than the other teams in pot two.
Both sides will square up against each other for a place in the next round of draws as 42 teams are already waiting.
Eritrea will face Botswana while Sâo Tomé E.P will battle out Mauritius.
Djibouti will face South Sudan, Seychelles against Lesotho, Somalia battle Eswatini while Chad will entertain The Gambia.
The draws held on Friday signify CAF preparation towards next year’s Africa Cup of Nations which will take place, for the first time in the summer.
