The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) draw will be conducted on Monday January 27 in Rabat, Morocco, as 24 teams set to compete in Africa’s premier Football competition will learn their group stage opponents.
Here, ESPN presents everything you need to know ahead of the AFCON group stage draw, including details about the event, the format of the draw, and the rundown of those teams to have qualified for the Nations Cup.
What is the Africa Cup of Nations?
The Africa Cup of Nations – commonly known as the AFCON — is the biennial football competition between the top African national sides to crown the continental champion.
It’s the African version of the UEFA European Championship, the Copa América or the CONCACAF Gold Cup, and is run by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Inaugurated in 1957 with only three participants, the AFCON has subsequently expanded and, since 2019, has featured 24 teams in the finals.
The 2025 edition of the tournament, which will take place in Morocco, will be the 35th edition of the competition. The tournament will begin on December 21, with the final taking place on 18 January 2026.
AFCON Draw: When is it taking place?
The group stage draw takes place this Monday, January 27, and will be held in Rabat, Morocco.
The draw will be conducted at 19h00 Moroccan/Lagos time (GMT +1), (18H00 GMT/20h00 CAT).
Confirmed attendees include Gervinho, a winner with the Ivory Coast in 2015, multi-time champion Essam El Hadary of Egypt, as well as two-time winner, Cameroon great Patrick Mboma.
Expect FIFA President Gianni Infantino to be present, while CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe is expected to give a speech to launch the ceremony. All of the 24 participating teams will have federation officials present at the event.
AFCON Draw: How does it work?
The 24 qualifiers have been seeded into four pots, with the six highest ranked teams as per the December FIFA World Rankings taking their place in Pot One.
One team from each of the four pots will be drawn into six groups of four teams for the tournament later this year, meaning that the top six ranked teams – including hosts Morocco – cannot face each other in the first round.
Come the tournament proper later this year, the top two sides from each group, as well as the four best-ranked third-placed teams will all advance to the Last 16.
Which teams have qualified for the AFCON?
Egypt | Group C Winners | 27th appearance | Previous Best: Winners (6)
Ivory Coast | Group G runners-up | 26th appearance | Previous Best: Winners (3)
Tunisia | Group A runners-up | 22nd appearance | Previous Best: Winners (1)
Cameroon | Group J winners | 22nd appearance | Previous Best: Winners (5)
Nigeria | Group D winners | 21st appearance | Previous Best: Winners (3)
Algeria | Group E winners | 21st appearance | Previous Best: Winners (2)
DR Congo | Group H winners | 21st appearance | Previous Best: Winners (2)
Morocco | Hosts + Group B winners | 20th appearance | Previous Best: Winners (1)
Zambia | Group G winners | 19th appearance | Previous Best: Winners (1)
-Senegal | Group L winners | 18th appearance | Previous Best: Winners (1)
Mali | Group I winners | 14th appearance | Previous Best: Runners-up
Burkina Faso | Group L runners-up | 14th appearance | Previous Best: Runners-up
South Africa | Group K winners | 12th appearance | Previous Best: Winners (1)
Angola | Group F winners | 10th appearance | Previous Best: Quarter-finals
Sudan | Group F runners-up | 10th appearance | Previous Best: Winners (1)
Gabon | Group B runners-up | 9th appearance | Previous Best: Quarter-finals
Uganda | Group K runners-up | 8th appearance | Previous Best: Runners-up
Mozambique | Group I runners-up | 6th appearance | Previous Best: Group Stage
Zimbabwe | Group J runners-up | 6th appearance | Previous Best: Group Stage
Benin | Group D runners-up | 5th appearance | Previous Best: Quarter-finals
Equatorial Guinea | Group E runners-up | 5th appearance | Previous Best: Fourth place
Tanzania | Group H runners-up | 4th appearance | Previous Best: Group Stage
Comoros | Group A winners | 2nd appearance | Previous Best: Round of 16
Botswana | Group C runners-up | 2nd appearance | Previous Best: Group Stage
AFCON Draw: Group stage seeding
Pot 1: Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Ivory Coast
Pot 2: Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, South Africa, DR Congo, Burkina Faso
Pot 3: Gabon, Angola, Zambia, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Benin Republic
Pot 4: Mozambique, Comoros, Tanzania, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Botswana
AFCON Draw live: How to watch the Africa Cup of Nations draw?
At the time of writing, CAF are yet to confirm that they will stream the AFCON group stage draw, although it appears highly likely that the event will be available across the organising body’s handles.
As was the case for the CHAN 2024 earlier this month or December’s CAF Awards Ceremony, the AFCON draw live stream should be available on CAF’s YouTube channel: CAFTV, as well as the organisation’s website.
For France-based viewers, DAZN have already confirmed that they will be live streaming the draw on their official website.
