AFCON 2023 Draw: Pots, teams, days, times, and how to watch

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations draw will be held at the prestigious Parc des Expositions d'Abidjan in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Thursday evening, October 12.

The global showpiece is barely three months away and fans are excited as they anticipate knowing which teams will meet each other in the preliminary rounds.

Senegal go into the tournament - which starts in January - as the defending champions, while Nigeria, Morocco, and Cameroon are among the 24 teams that will jostle for the prestigious title.

Participating teams are set to know their first-round opponents in a day's time and Sports Brief looks at the details and schedule of the event.

Qualified teams for AFCON 2023

Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo DR, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Zambia.

AFCON 2023 Pots

Teams were pooled according to their September FIFA ranking:

Pot 1: Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt

Pot 2: Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, DR Congo

Pot 3: South Africa, Cape Verde, Guinea, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania

Pot 4: Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Gambia, Tanzania

The 24 teams will be drawn into six groups of four.

When is the AFCON 2023 draw?

All roads lead to the Parc des Expositions d'Abidjan in the Ivorian capital on Thursday evening, October 12, according to CAF's official website.

How to watch the AFCON draw

The draw will start at 19:00 West Africa Time, 22:00 East Africa Time, and 21:00 South Africa Time. The ceremony will be broadcast live on CACF's global TV partners, including SuperSport.

When will AFCON 2023 start?

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals will officially kick off on January 13, 2024, with the final game set to be played on February 11.