Bafana In Pot 2 For AFCON 2023 Qualifiers Draw

Bafana Bafana are likely to be pitted with one of the giants of African football in the upcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying draw.

The draw that will take place in Johannesburg at 19:30 today will have the whole continent’s attention as the road to Ivory Coast 2023 officially begins ahead of the opening fixtures in June.

South Africa will be aiming to qualify for the continental showpiece after missing out on Cameroon 2021, having been pipped to the position by Sudan whilst under the leadership of Molefi Ntseki.

Belgian tactician Hugo Broos has since taken over at the helm and notably stated in his opening press conference that South Africans can ‘kill’ him if he fails to lead them to the biennial event next year.

Six nations have qualified via the preliminary rounds; Botswana, South Sudan, São Tomé and Príncipe, Lesotho, eSwatini, and the Gambia – and will be placed in Pot 4.

Meanwhile, the highest-ranked nations, including hosts Ivory Coast will be seeded in Pot 1, meaning they will not be allowed to be drawn in the same group – while South Africa, in pot 2 – will be drawn alongside one of Africa’s giants, all of whom, expect DR Congo, competed at the most recent AFCON.

The Elephants will compete in the Group stage but are guaranteed a place in the competition regardless of their final placing due to their status as hosts.

The teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four teams (Group A to L) with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the tournament to be played in the West African country.

Pot 1:

Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Cameroon, Algeria, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, DR Congo.

Pot 2:

South Africa, Cape Verde, Guinea, Gabon, Benin, Uganda, Zambia, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Kenya*, Sierra Leone.

Pot 3:

Namibia, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Libya, Mozambique, Malawi, Togo, Zimbabwe*, Gambia, Angola, Comoros

Pot 4:

Tanzania, Central African Republic, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, eSwatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Liberia, South Sudan, São Tomé and Príncipe.

*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 to the final tournament.

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