Gabon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Algeria top seeds for AFCON 2017 draw

With months before the opening of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) slated for Gabon in January, seedings for next month’s draw have been announced.

Host nation, Gabon; the defending champions, Ivory Coast; last tournament’s losing finalists, Ghana and Algeria are the top ranked teams going into the draw.

The draw for the tournament is slated for 19 October in Libreville, according to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The draw will take place on the 19th of October in Libreville, Gabon #AFCON2017

— CAF (@CAF_Online) September 27, 2016

Gabon president Ali Bongo Onbimba reaffrimed the readiness of the Central African country to host the games despite the tense political situation that followed his reelection in the last presidential polls.

Uganda’s Cranes who qualified after a long absence are in the pot 4, along with Zimbabwe, Togo and Guinea Bissau. Egypt and Cameroon are also seeded in the third pot with Senegal and Morocco.

Gabon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Algeria named top seeds https://t.co/FT2vBqvHzk

— CAF (@CAF_Online) September 27, 2016

The competition will be held from 14 January to 5 February.

The four groups for the draw are as follows:

Pot 1: Gabon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Algeria
Pot 2: Tunisia, Mali, Burkina Faso, DR Congo
Pot 3: Cameroon, Senegal, Morocco, Egypt
Pot 4: Togo, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Guinea Bissau