By Victor Kanayo
All 24 countries heading to Cote d’ivoire for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations have now been confirmed.
This is after Five-time African champions Cameroon and Southern Africa’s Namibia became the last two to book the qualification slots on Tuesday night.
The tournament, one of the biggest events globally, will kick off in Abidjan, on January 13, 2024.
According to the organisers, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), official final draw that will be held in Abidjan on October 12, 2023.
Cameroon, who won the competition the last time Cote d’Ivoire hosted the event in 1984, were made to wait until the last day of the Qualifiers and laboured to a 3-0 victory against Burundi at home.
At A Glance
A strong field comprised of 12 former African Champions will be heading to the West of the continent to enthral football fans around the world, the continent is also fortunate to have its 16 top-ranked teams at the finals according to current FIFA rankings.
The hosts, Cote d’Ivoire will be leading a strong West African field with the holders Senegal, four times Champions Ghana and 2013 winners Nigeria all amongst this group that also includes Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Gambia who sealed their qualification in dramatic style.
Tanzania returns for a second finals, as their team built on the successes of the strong showings recently in TotalEnergies African Club competitions by Yanga SC and Simba.
Tunisia, who have reached their 16th successive finals, have been to every finals since 1994 and were Champions in 1994.
Africa’s first FIFA World Cup Semi-finalists Morocco will be looking to duplicate their performances in Qatar.
Egypt will be looking for an eighth unprecedented title, having reached two of the last three finals in 2017 and at the 2021 edition.
Winners in 1990 and 2019, Algeria returns to go for a third title.
List Of Qualified Nations
Cote d’Ivoire (hosts), Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo DR, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zambia are the 24 countries that made it.
