2023 AFCON prelims draw, World Cup 2022 African qualifiers draw dates announced

CAF has confirmed the dates and the times for the upcoming TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 and FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, African Qualifiers.

The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Preliminary Round draw will be conducted on Friday, 21 January 2022 at 16h00 (15h00 GMT, 17h00 CAT) in Douala.

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, African Qualifiers Third Round draw will be conducted on Saturday, 22 January 2022 at 16h00 at the same venue, in Douala. (15h00 GMT, 17h00 CAT)

Both draws will be live on CAF platforms.

• Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 preliminaries

The Preliminary Round will see the 12 least ranked teams. The 12 teams will be divided into two levels. The six highest-ranked teams will play against the six least ranked teams (the 1st leg will be played at home of the lower-ranked teams).

The six aggregate winners will join the 42 highest ranked teams into the Group Stage of the qualifiers.

• Level 1: Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, Gambia, South Sudan, Mauritius
• Level 2: Chad, Sao Tome & Principe, Djibouti, Somalia, Seychelles, Eritrea

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, African Qualifiers

The 10 qualified teams will be divided into two levels based on the official FIFA ranking, published in November 2021.

The five highest-ranked teams will play against the five least ranked teams (the first leg will be played at home of the lower-ranked teams).

According to the ranking published on 19 November 2021 after the last round, the distribution of the teams on the two pots shall be as follows:

• Level 1: Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Nigeria
• Level 2: Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali and DR Congo