CAF Moves 2015 AFCON Draw To April

--Morocco to host biennial event

Plans to host the draw for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in Cape Town at the end of the month have been shelved.

Instead they will be held in host nation Morocco in April, the Confederation of African Football has decided.


The draw was originally intended to be held a day before the African Nations Championship final in Cape Town when the full CAF executive committee would be in town for meetings and to attend the deciding match on February 1.

But it is now scheduled for April, at the same time as the draws for the African Champions League and African Confederation Cup group phase are to be done.

All 53 CAF members have entered the 2015 Afcon tournament.

The qualifiers are being sandwiched into a three-month period after the 2014 World Cup and are divided into two stages.

There will be five preliminary round ties, likely over two legs in July and August, which will deliver five winners to join with 43 other countries in 12 groups of four.

Teams participating in the first phase will be the lowest ranked sides, which could include SA's neighbours Lesotho and Swaziland.

The group qualifiers will be crammed with each country to play six group games - twice a month in September, October and November.

CAF said the winner of each of the 12 groups will qualify for the finals along with the three best runners-up and the hosts.

The tournament in Morocco will be played between January 15 and February 15.