AFCON 2025: All eyes on the draw

It's D-Day for African football fans! On Monday 27 January, all eyes will be on the Mohammed V National Theatre in Rabat, where the AFCON 2025 group draw will take place at 18:00 GMT. The event marks the official start of the road to the tournament, which will be staged in Morocco from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026.

With 24 teams qualified, the competition promises to be high-calibre and full of surprises. The presence of African legends such as Mustapha Hadji, Aliou Cissé, Joseph Yobo and Serge Aurier to conduct the draw adds a special touch to the ceremony.

The stakes are high. Every nation is hoping for a favourable draw to maximise its chances of getting out of the group stage and avoiding a dreaded "group of death". Sides such as hosts Morocco and holders Ivory Coast will be watched especially closely.

Also read: AFCON 2025: a marabout predicts Cameroon will win it

The procedure in detail

For the AFCON 2025 group draw, the 24 teams will be split into six groups of four, following a strict procedure:

1. Top spot for the host nation: Morocco, automatically placed at the head of Group A (A1), will be the first ball drawn from Pot 1.
2. Teams allocated in stages:

• The balls from Pot 4 will be drawn first to fill the bottom spots in the groups (A4 to F4).
• Next, the teams from Pot 3 will take the third positions in the groups (A3 to F3).
• The teams from Pot 2 will then fill the second positions (A2 to F2).
• Finally, the remaining balls from Pot 1 will determine the seeds for Groups B to F.

The split of teams across the four pots is based on the FIFA rankings of 19 December 2024.

• Pot 1: Morocco (A1), Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria and Ivory Coast
• Pot 2: Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, South Africa, DR Congo and Burkina Faso
• Pot 3: Gabon, Angola, Zambia, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea and Benin
• Pot 4: Mozambique, Comoros, Tanzania, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Botswana

A competitive format

The top two teams in each group, along with the four best third-placed sides, will go through to the round of 16. The format improves the odds for some nations of making an unexpected run, as Comoros and Madagascar did at the 2021 edition in Cameroon. So who will land the notorious "group of death"? Which outsider will defy the predictions? We will find out tonight in Rabat, in a draw that will be closely watched, as it is broadcast live in more than 90 countries.