The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations draw will be held tonight, August 17, 2021, in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé. This edition will be the 33rd of Africa’s elite championship, which is hosted biennially. However, it was postponed to 2022 following the outbreak of COVID-19. The Chronicle presents five things you need to know about the Nations Cup draw happening tonight in Cameroon.
The draw will be held in Yaoundé’s Conference Center. The Conference Center is one impressive edifice in Cameroon and has been home to the country’s lawmakers. The building was erected 40 years ago and has been a place to plan Cameroon’s political present and future.
Yaoundé Conference Center is located at the top of the Nkol-Nyada hill. It has been nicknamed the ‘city of seven hills because of its picturesque landscape of many mountains and valleys.
The Host Presenters
BBC sports’ Mimi Fawaz, a Nigerian, will be joined by Cameroonian radio and TV star Leonard Chatelain as the event’s host.
For Mimi Fawaz, this is not the first time she is hosting the CAF event – in January 2017. She did a sterling job as a co-host of the CAF Awards 2016 in Nigeria. In addition, Ms. Fawaz is well-known for covering African football on international platforms like BBC.
Leonard Chatelain is an emblematic figure of Radio-TV shows in Cameroon. He has become a reference in his country, where his name is a label of success in the presentation of prestigious galas. With friendliness, humor, and joy, he knows how to make events a memorable experience!
The Teams
There will be 24 countries at the Nations Cup next year, including the Gambia’s Scorpions.
The 24 teams that have qualified for the competition are Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.
The AFCON Draw Pots
The 24 qualified teams have been grouped into four pots for the draw on Tuesday. The Potting of teams is based on the current FIFA ranking except for the host country, placed in lot 1. The Gambia is in pot 4 together with Malawi, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Comoros, and Ethiopia. It is from the pots that the six groups will be formed.
Pot 1: Cameroon, Algeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, Nigeria. Pot 2: Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea. Pot 3: Cape Verde, Gabon Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Guinea Bissau.
Pot 4: Malawi, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Comoros, Ethiopia, Gambia.
