January 21, (THEWILL) – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed that the draw assistants for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Preliminary Round Draw will be former Cameroon Indomitable Lions captain Rigobert Song and former Super Eagles great Emmanuel Amunike.
They will perform their roles at the draw billed to take place on Friday, January 21, 2022 in Douala, which was THEWILL previously reported, will commence at 4:30 p.m. local time (15:30 p.m. GMT) and will be broadcast live on CAF’s digital platforms.
Friday’s draw will be the first step towards the 34th edition of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Côte d’Ivoire 2023.
The former Indomitable Lions defender and captain Rigobert Song featured in eight TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations finals (1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010) winning the competition twice in 2000 and 2002 with Cameroon.
Amunike, the former Super Eagles midfielder, won AFCON in 1994 and was a member of Nigeria’s “golden generation” team that won the Olympic gold medal in 1996 at Atlanta, USA.
For the draw, the 12 lowest-ranked clubs will be split into two groups in the Preliminary Round. The six highest-ranked clubs (out of a total of 12) will face the six lowest-ranked ones (the first leg will be played at home of the lower ranked teams).
The six aggregate winners will compete in the Group Stage of the qualifications alongside the top 42 teams.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
