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According to the Nigeria Football Federation, Nigeria will commence their qualifiers with a home fixture a Africa Cup against Sierra Leone before heading to Sao Tome and Principe – who are eyeing a maiden appearance at Afcon. The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers will start in June 2022.
Sierra Leone will face Nigeria, Guinea Bissau and Sao Tome and Principe in Group A of the qualifiers for a ticket to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations billed for Cote d’Ivoire.
The draw held on Tuesday in South Africa was steered by the Confederation of African Football director of competitions Samson Adamu while South African football great Lucas Radebe and former Cote d’Ivoire international Salomon Kalou participated.
There will be 32 nations looking to qualify for the African football playoffs with plenty of ambitious teams that believe they can emulate the efforts from 2021 reigning champions Senegal.
The Lions of Teranga, who are hoping to defend their crown, will have their hands full when they take on Benin Republic, Mozambique and Rwanda in Group L.
Ghana must negotiate their way past Madagascar, Angola and the Central African Republic in Group E if they hope to make it to the tournament for the 24th time.
Having missed the last edition, 1996 African kings South Africa would be aiming to return to Afcon. Nevertheless, they must scale a huge hurdle in Morocco, Zimbabwe and Libya in Group K.
Elsewhere, Kenya have been zoned alongside Cameroon, Namibia, and Burundi in Group C.
Hosts Cote d’Ivoire will tackle Zambia, Comoros and Lesotho even though they have already secured their place in the tournament which means only one other team from their group will qualify for the competition.
Notwithstanding if the suspension placed on Kenya and Zimbabwe is not lifted two weeks before their first matchday of the qualifiers, both associations will be considered losers and eliminated from the competition.
The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers start in June 2022.
