The Super Eagles of Nigeria have been placed in pot one alongside defending champions Algeria, Senegal, Tunisia and host Cameroon for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations draw billed to take place in Yaounde on August 17.
Based on the Fifa world rankings released a few days ago, the teams are allocated to four pots each of six teams for the draw, with the top four teams on the continent grouped in pot one.
The other teams will be in pots two, three, and four based on their ranking in a descending manner. Former champions Egypt, as well as Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea are in pot two.
Cape Verde, Gabon, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, and Guinea Bissau are in pot three, while Malawi, Sudan, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, and The Gambia are in pot four.
The pots representing teams will be marked pots 1-4 while the pots for groups will be marked A to F. The Indomitable Lions will be fixed to position A1 while the remaining participants in pot one will automatically be drawn into position one of each group, B to F.
The same procedure will be undertaken for the remaining pots and each team pot must be emptied before moving on to the next pot.
The biennial tournament will be played across six stadiums in the central African country. In the capital, Yaounde, Ahmadou Ahidjo and Paul Biya Stadiums will host some games, Limbe Stadium in Limbe town, Japoma Stadium in Daoula, Bafoussam’s Kouekong Stadium and the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua will host other matches.
The competition is scheduled to take place from January 9 to February 6 next year, after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted its calendar that would have seen it conducted in mid-2021.
Algeria won the last edition in Egypt after beating Senegal by a lone goal, while Nigeria defeated Tunisia by the same margin to win bronze.
