The group stage draw for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) took place on Monday, January 27, in Rabat, Morocco.
Diaspora digital media (DDM) lent that this event determined the matchups for the 24 teams set to compete in Africa’s premier football tournament.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino and CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe were both in attendance for the ceremony.
For the 2025 edition of AFCON, the participating teams were divided into four pots, with the top six ranked teams from the December FIFA World Rankings placed in Pot One.
The teams were then drawn into six groups of four, with the stipulation that the top six teams would not be placed in the same group.
This format ensures that no top-seeded team faces another in the opening round.
The draw results were crucial for teams like Nigeria, Morocco, and Senegal, who all learned their group-stage opponents.
These teams, considered some of the strongest in African football, are now set to begin their journey in AFCON 2025 with high hopes of advancing past the group stage.
In the AFCON draw, the 24 teams were organized into four pots based on their rankings.
Pot One included Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast, with these teams being the highest-ranked in the competition.
Pot Two featured Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, South Africa, DR Congo, and Burkina Faso.
Pot Three consisted of teams like Gabon, Angola, Zambia, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, and Benin Republic, while Pot Four had Mozambique, Comoros, Tanzania, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Botswana.
The structure of the tournament means that each group will consist of one team from each pot, avoiding any direct matchups between the top-ranked teams in the early stages of the competition.
This system also creates a more balanced competition across the six groups.
The top two teams from each group will progress to the knockout stage, alongside the four best-ranked third-place teams.
These group-stage matches will be critical in determining which teams advance to the Round of 16, with the pressure on every team to perform well.
The AFCON draw has sparked excitement as teams prepare for the upcoming tournament.
With nations like Nigeria, Morocco, and Senegal aiming for glory, the road to the 2025 title is set to be a thrilling one.
As the tournament draws closer, all eyes will be on how these teams navigate the group stage and whether they can secure their spots in the knockout rounds.
