Bafana drawn in group K against Uganda, Congo and South Sudan for 2025 Afcon qualifications

04 July 2024 - 15:00
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Ivory Coast forward Max-Alain Gradel lifts the Africa Cup of Nations trophy after winning the final against Nigeria at Stade Olympique d'Ebimpé in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on February 11 2024.
Ivory Coast forward Max-Alain Gradel lifts the Africa Cup of Nations trophy after winning the final against Nigeria at Stade Olympique d'Ebimpé in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on February 11 2024.
Image: MB Media/Getty Images

Bafana Bafana were slotted in group K against Uganda, Congo and South Sudan in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifications draw conducted in Randburg, Johannesburg, on Thursday.

The two top finishers will qualify for the tournament hosted by Morocco in December and January next year. The first two rounds of the qualifiers are expected to kick off in September. 

Hugo Broos's team, bronze winners in 2023 Afcon in Ivory Coast earlier this year, avoided the big guns as they're now ranked among the top 10 nations on the continent.

The 2025 Afcon will be played between December and January because Fifa will have an expanded Fifa Club World Cup of 32 for the first time between June and July next year.

Defending champions Ivory Coast will face Zambia, Sierra Leone and Chad in group G, while hosts Morocco, who will play in the qualifiers as part of their preparation for the tournament, will be up against Gabon, Central African Republic and Lesotho in group B.

Emerse Fae, Ivory Coast coach, early this year said it was difficult to win the tournament as hosts.

"I believed [that they will win the cup]. I knew it was going to be the difficult, but we did it," said Fae before the Thursday draw.

It will be the first time the Afcon is played over the festive season, and there could be huge battles between some African football associations and clubs in getting the players for the tournament, especially those plying their trade in Europe.

FULL AFCON 2025 DRAW

GROUP A

  • Tunisia
  • Madagascar
  • Comoros
  • Gambia

GROUP B

  • Morocco
  • Gabon
  • Central African Republic
  • Lesotho

GROUP C

  • Egypt
  • Cape Verde
  • Mauritania
  • Botswana

GROUP D

  • Nigeria
  • Benin
  • Libya
  • Rwanda

GROUP E

  • Algeria
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Togo
  • Liberia

GROUP F

  • Ghana
  • Angola
  • Sudan
  • Niger

GROUP G

  • Ivory Coast
  • Zambia
  • Sierra Leone
  • Chad

GROUP H

  • DR Congo
  • Guinea
  • Tanzania
  • Ethiopia

GROUP I

  • Mali
  • Mozambique
  • Guinea Bissau
  • Eswatini

GROUP J

  • Cameroon
  • Namibia
  • Kenya
  • Zimbabwe

GROUP K

  • South Africa
  • Uganda
  • Congo
  • South Sudan

GROUP L 

  • Senegal
  • Burkina Faso
  • Malawi
  • Burundi

 


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