AFCON 2023 Draw Sets Up Nigeria Clash With Ivory Coast In Group Stage

The draw for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations took place on Thursday at a star-studied ceremony. Hosts Ivory Coast and Nigeria were both put in AFCON Group A.

The draw for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations took place on Thursday at a star-studied ceremony in Abidjan.

Senegal forward Sadio Mane, Morocco right-back Achraf Hakimi and Ivory Coast legend Didier Drogba all helped out with the draw process.

Hosts Ivory Coast landed in Group A alongside Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.

Meanwhile, Senegal were drawn in Group C with Cameroon, Guinea and The Gambia.

Morocco will face DR Congo, Zambia and Tanzania in Group F, while Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde and Mozambique were all placed in Group B.

AFCON 2023 Group Stage Draw

• Group A: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau
• Group B: Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, Mozambique
• Group C: Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, The Gambia
• Group D: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Angola
• Group E: Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, Namibia
• Group F: Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia, Tanzania

Senegal are the reigning champions after winning AFCON 2021 :: IMAGO/Sebastian Frej

Reacting to the draw, Mane described Senegal's group as "really difficult", before adding: "Cameroon is going to be really tough but we will give our best to go through in the first round."

AFCON 2023 will actually take place in 2024 across January and February.

The tournament had originally been scheduled to begin in June 2023. But it was rearranged due to fears that the weather during the rainy season in host nation Ivory Coast may cause disruptions.

AFCON 2023 will begin on January 13 next year and finish on February 11 :: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire/Ulrik Pedersen