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Rabat – The draw for the preliminary qualifying round of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will take place on February 20 in the capital city of Egypt, Cairo, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced today.
The draw is scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. local time.
Following the conclusion of the 34th AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, all eyes are now on the upcoming tournament, which will take place in Morocco.
According to CAF, the preliminary round will feature the eight lowest-ranked teams in the FIFA rankings, namely Somalia, Djibouti, Sao Tome, Chad, Mauritius, South Sudan, Liberia, and Eswatini.
These teams will play in the preliminary round, while the rest of the teams that are exempted will play directly in the group stage.
The matches will be played on a two-legged basis during the FIFA window from March 18 to 26, emphasized CAF, noting that the four winners of the preliminary round will join the remaining 44 teams.
CAF has detailed the procedures for choosing the preliminary round teams. According to the Confederation, “the first ball drawn from Pot 1 will play against the first ball drawn from Pot 2 and the teams of Pot 1 will play the first leg at home. The same process will be repeated for the remaining teams in Pots 1 & 2.”
The latest AFCON edition, which was held between January 13 and February 11, 2024, saw the Ivorian Elephants place their third trophy in their cabinet, after a triumphant finish over the Nigerian Super Eagles 2-1.
Read also: CAF Is Pushing for 2025 African Cup of Nations to Be Played in Summer
