Bafana Bafana head coach Gordon Igesund is satisfied with the outcome of the draw for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations tournament which took place at the International Convention Centre in Durban on Wednesday night (24 October 2012).

South Africa is in Group A alongside Cape Verde, Morocco and Angola.
The opening match will see the hosts facing Cape Verde at Soccer City on 19 January.

“We expected any of the teams to go into our group and we are satisfied that we managed to avoid the so called stronger sides. That does not mean any disrespect to the nations in our group. It was a favourable draw for us and now preparations can begin in earnest now that we know who we are facing in the tournament,” said Igesund.

“The opening match is important and we must be careful because Cape Verde knocked Cameroon out of the qualifiers, so we can’t take them lightly, while Morocco and Angola could offer some stiff opposition. But I am confident that we can do well in our opening matches and proceed to the next round.”

The draw comes just days after Bafana Bafana assistant coach Thomas Madigage passed away in a car accident. He will be buried on Sunday, 28 October.

“It is a very difficult time for us, and we so wished that Tommy could have been here with us, but such is life. We will play every match for him in the tournament,” added Igesund.

Among others, the final draw was attended by the President of South Africa Jacob Zuma, King Goodwill Zwelithini, Premier of KwaZulu Natal, Dr Zweli Mkhize, Minister of Sports and Recreation of South Africa Fikile Mbalula, President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Issa Hayatou, SAFA President Kirsten Nematandani and LOC board members.

There were also several coaches, players and former players at the draw.

Group D is arguably the Group of Death where Cote d’Ivoire is pitted against Togo, Algeria and Tunisia.

Group C will be contested by defending champions Zambia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia, while in Group B has the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger and Mali.

The tournament will be played in five venues – Soccer City in Johannesburg, Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit and Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.

South Africa hosted and won the AFCON tournament in 1996.

AFCON 2013 Draw:

Group A:
South Africa, Morocco, Cape Verde, Angola

Group B:
Ghana, Mali, Niger, DR Congo

Group C:
Zambia, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Nigeria

Group D:
Ivory Coast, Togo , Algeria, Tunisia

Fixtures for 2013 Africa Cup of Nations:

Group A – 19 January (Johannesburg)

South Africa v Cape Verde, Angola v Morocco

23 January (Durban)
 

South Africa v Angola
Morocco v Cape Verde

27 January (Durban)

South Africa v Morocco

27 January (Port Elizabeth)

Cape Verde v Angola

Group B

20 January (Port Elizabeth)

Ghana v DR Congo
Mali v Niger

24 January (Port Elizabeth)

Ghana v Mali
Niger v DR Congo

28 January (Port Elizabeth)

Ghana v Niger

28 January (Durban)

DR Congo v Mali

Group C (Nelspruit unless stated)

21 January (Nelspruit)

Zambia v Ethiopia
Nigeria v Burkina Faso

25 January (Nelspruit)

Zambia v Nigeria
Burkina Faso v Ethiopia

29 January (Nelspruit)

Zambia v Burkina Faso

29 January (Rustenburg)

Ethiopia v Nigeria

Group D
22 January (Rustenburg)
Ivory Coast v Togo
Tunisia v Algeria 

26 January (Rustenburg)
Ivory Coast v Tunisia
Algeria v Togo

30 January (Rustenburg)
Ivory Coast v Algeria

30 January (Nelspruit) 
Togo v Tunisia

Quarter-finals

02  February – Port Elizabeth 

(1) Group B winners v Group A runners-up 
Durban
(2) Group A winners v Group B runners-up

3 February
Rustenburg
(3) Group D winners v Group C runners-up 

Nelspruit
(4) Group C winners v Group D runners-up

Semi-finals
6 February
Durban
Winners quarter-final 2 v winners quarter-final 3 

Nelspruit
Winners quarter-final 4 v winners quarter-final 1 
Third place

9 February – Port Elizabeth
Semi-finals losers
 

Final – 10 February
Johannesburg

Semi-finals winners