Road to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations

The pots for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying draw have been decided.

Holders Nigeria are among 11 countries seeded in pot 1 along with 2013 runners-ups Burkina Faso, quarter-finalists Ghana and Ivory Coast as well as South Africa and Mali.

Continental super-powers Egypt and Cameroon are in pot 2. The pair has won 11 Nations Cup tournaments between them but has fallen on hard times, both failing to qualify for the last two editions.

Also in pot 2 are Senegal and Algeria, while pot 3 includes 2013 finalists Ethiopia, Angola and Niger.

The road to dethrone champions Nigeria begins

The teams in pot 4 will be known after the preliminary round which is scheduled to start in June. Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland and Namibia are amongst the countries that will playoff for the remaining 11 qualifying spots.

The qualification procedure is reverting to its normal format, with countries divided into eleven groups of four, after a knockout qualifying system was used for the 2013 championship.

The eleven group winners as well as the four best runners-up will qualify for the 2015 Nations Cup. Morocco qualifies automatically as hosts.

The draw ceremony will take place on March 10 in Morocco during Caf’s General Assembly.

2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying pots

Pot one: Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Togo, Mali, South Africa, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Zambia, Tunisia, Ghana

Pot two: Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Uganda, Congo, Central African Republic

Pot three: Ethiopia, Benin, Angola, Niger, Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Malawi, Burundi, Liberia, Sudan

Pot four: To be determined after the preliminary round.