Tunisia draw Morocco in Chan
African Nations Championship (CHAN) title holders Tunisia were paired with Morocco Thursday when the qualifying draw for the 2014 tournament was made in Cairo.
Algeria play Libya in the other match-up involving countries in the north of the continent with regional powerhouse Egypt a notable absentee from the zonal draw.
Egypt (6) and Cape Verde Islands (15) are the only teams among the CAF top 20 not to enter a competition that has grown quickly in stature with the number of finalists doubling from eight to 16 for the second edition in Sudan last year.
Tunisia defeated Angola 3-0 in the 2011 final of a championship restricted to footballers playing in their country of birth and the Democratic Republic of Congo upset Ghana 2-0 in the first decider two years earlier.
West Africa was split into two zones and the highlight of the 'B' pairings is a showdown between Nigeria and Ivory Coast with the former wanting to atone for a shock qualifying loss to Niger in the previous eliminators.
The winners of a preliminary tie between Burkina Faso and Togo stand between 2011 quarterfinalists Niger and a second appearance while Benin and Ghana square off for another slot.
South Africa qualify automatically as hosts and three 2010 World Cup venues – Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Polokwane – will be used plus the GWK rugby union stadium in Northern Cape capital Kimberley.
Draw
North
First rnd: Algeria v Libya, Tunisia (holders) v Morocco
Winners qualify for finals
West A
Preliminary rnd: Liberia v Mauritania, Guinea v Sierra Leone
First rnd: Senegal v Liberia/Mauritania, Mali v Guinea/S. Leone
Winners qualify
West B
Preliminary rnd: Burkina Faso v Togo
First rnd: Benin v Ghana, Nigeria v Ivory Coast, B. Faso/Togo v Niger
Winners qualify
Central
Preliminary rnd: Central Africa Republic v Congo Brazzaville
First rnd: Cameroon v Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo v C.A.R./Congo
Second rnd: Losers Cameroon/Gabon v losers DR Congo/C.A.R./Congo
First rnd and second rnd winners qualify
Central-East
Preliminary rnd: Burundi v Kenya, Eritrea v Ethiopia
First rnd: Burundi/Kenya v Sudan, Eritrea/Ethiopia v Rwanda, Tanzania v Uganda
Winners qualify
South
Preliminary rnd: Mauritius v Comoros Islands
First rnd: Mauritius/Comoros v Zimbabwe, Seychelles v Namibia, Swaziland v Angola, Botswana v Zambia
Second rnd: Mauritius/Comoros/Zimbabwe v Botswana/Zambia, Seychelles/Namibia v Swaziland/Angola
Winners qualify
Dates
Preliminary rnd: Nov 30-Dec 2 and Dec 14-16, first: June 21-23 and July 5-7, second: July 26-28 and Aug 9-11
Notes
- Hosts South Africa qualify automatically
- Championship restricted to footballers playing in country of birth
