November 25, 2024
African Nations Cup draw slated for October
Knowledge Musona celebrates with teamates after scoring against Malawi in June.
By Tafadzwa Ndiraire
THE draw for the 2017 African Cup of Nations finals will be held on October 19 in Gabon, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) has announced.
Zimbabwe’s Warriors were one of the early qualifiers for the biennial soccer show case after defeating Malawi 3 -0 in Harare in June with a game to spare. Their final match scheduled next month against Guinea in Conakry is now a dead rubber.
It will be the third time for Zimbabwe to earn a berth at Africa’s greatest football soccer showcase after appearances in Tunisia in 2004 and Egypt (2006). On both occasions the Warrior were eliminated in the group stages and will be hoping to improve on that record. On both outings they had three points having won a game and losing the other two.
In 2004, Zimbabwe were drawn against Egypt, Algeria and Cameroon. The next tournament the warriors were in the same group with Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria.
Zimbabwe, Guinea-Bissau, and Ghana join Morocco, Algeria, Cameroon, Senegal and Egypt as the nations who have already qualified.
The final round of group matches will be played in September. The group winners and the best two runners-up will qualify for the finals along with hosts Gabon.
