Johannesburg-Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund says he is happy following the draw of the 2015 AFCON tournament scheduled for Morocco next year.

The draw was conducted in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Sunday (27 April 2014).

Bafana Bafana are paired against reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions Nigeria, Sudan and the winner of Namibia, DR Congo (Brazzaville), Libya and Rwanda contest.

“It is a fair draw and I think we should be one of the two countries that qualify to the finals in Morocco,” said Igesund reacting to the draw.

“I was not expecting an easy draw because all countries are competitive but I am very hopeful of qualifying for Morocco 2015.

“The past two years of my tenure have been the most difficult one but now I do have a core of around 30 players on which to choose from and Bafana Bafana should be one of the countries going to Morocco,” said Igesund.

The Bafana Bafana coach admitted that Group D comprising of Ivory Coast, Cameroon and DRCongo was probably the Group of Death.

Group G, comprising Tunisia Egypt and Senegal is also another tough Group.

The 30th edition of AFCON will be played from 17 January through to 8 February 2015, after the organising committee approved the dates at CAF’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.

The distribution of groups, and their locations, has also been announced.

Group A will be based in Marrakech, the city that will host the opening match.

Group B will be based in Agadir.

Rabat will host Group C, as well as the cup final itself.

Group D will be located in Tangier.

The final draw for Morocco 2015 will be held in Rabat on 26 November.

The change in the dates means the event will be extended by one day.

It has come about because unlike in previous Africa Cup of Nations where both semi-finals have been played on the same date, the organising committee has decided to split the two matches in Morocco.

These will now be played on 4 February and 5 February respectively.
There will only be one fixture on the opening day in Marrakech – the first match of Group A. The second fixture of Group A will be played on 18 January. Two Group B matches will also be played on 18 January.

Here is the full draw:

Group A: Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, winner of Namibia/Congo/Libya/Rwanda

Group B: Mali, Algeria, Ethiopia, Sao Tome/Benin/Malawi/Chad

Group C: Burkina Faso, Angola, Gabon, winner of Liberia/Lesotho/Kenya/Comoros

Group D: Ivory Coast, Cameroon, DR Congo, winner of Swaziland/Sierra Leone/Gambia/Seychelles

Group E: Ghana, Togo, Guinea, winner of Madagascar/Uganda/Mauritania/Equatorial Guinea

Group F: Zambia, Cape Verde, Niger, winner of Tanzania/Zimbabwe/Mozambique/South Sudan

Group G: Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, winner of Burundi/Botswana/CAR/Guinea Bissau.

Second RoundMatch 5 & 6 Liberia vs LesothoMatch 7 & 8 Kenya vs ComorosMatch 9 & 10 Madagascar vs UgandaMatch 11 & 12 Mauritania vs Equatorial GuineaMatch 13 & 14 Namibia vs CongoMatch 15 & 16 Libya vs RwandaMatch 17 & 18 Burundi vs BotswanaMatch 19 & 20 Central African Republic vs Guinea BissauMatch 21 & 22 Swaziland vs Sierra LeoneMatch 23 & 24 Gambia vs Seychelles Match 25 & 26 Sao Tome e Principe vs BeninMatch 27 & 28 Malawi vs ChadMatch 29 & 30 Tanzania vs ZimbabweMatch 31 & 31 Mozambique vs South SudanFirst leg 16,17,18 May 2014Second leg 30,31 May or 1 June 2014