By Our Correspondent

The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021 will take place from 9 January to 6 February 2022 with the host nation playing 2013 finalists, Burkina Faso in the opening match on January 9, 2022.

Following the draw for the final tournament held in Yaoundé on Tuesday, the 24 qualified teams were divided into six groups of four teams each

The opening match will pit tournament host and five-time AFCON winners Cameroon against Burkina Faso, runners-up of 2013 edition.

This is the moment everyone has been waiting for! And there were many stars present at this highly decisive meeting for the protagonists of the most popular continental soap opera.

CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe was in the front row to attend the draw, as well as the COCAN President and Minister of Sports of Cameroon, Prof. Narcisse Mouelle Kombi.

The start of the show was given all in music by the artist composer and performer Salatiel, author of “Ca se passe ici”. Cameroon’s cultural diversity was also presented through local dance choreographies.

The group pairing did not fail to see rivals being slotted in the same group ahead the biennial fiesta.

Group A : Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ethiopie, Cape Verde

Group B : Senegal, Zimbabwe, Guinee, Malawi

Group C : Morocco, Ghana, Comoros, Gabon

Group D : Nigeria, Egypt, Sudan, Guinea-Bissau

Group E : Algeria, Sierra-Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire

Group F : Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Gambia

52 countries took part in the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations with only 24 places available. The qualified teams unveiled after a campaign that started in October 2019 and ended in June 2021, due to the one-year hiatus caused by Covid-19, are now fixed on their opponents.

Group stage of the AFCON tournament will commence from January 9 through 20, 2022 to be followed by Round of 16: January 23-26, 2022.
After the Round of 16, another two days break will be observed before quarter-final matches get centre stage between January 29 and 30, 2022 thereafter, another two-day hiatus will come in.

The last standing teams will battle for the final tickets on in the Semi-final on February 2 and 3, with Third Place match and Final slated for February 6, 2022

Five main cities were selected as hosts of the tournament, namely Douala and its Japoma Stadium, Yaoundé and its Ahmadou Ahidjo and Olembé Stadiums, Bafoussam and its Kouekong Stadium, Garoua and its Roumdjié-Adja Stadium and finally the Limbe-Buea venue which houses the Limbe Omnisport Stadium.

The 2021 AFCON tournament is the 33rd edition of the highest football Competition in the continent after the first edition in 1957.