Nigeria has been drawn with Sierra Leone, Lesotho and Benin Republic in Group L of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
The draw took place on Thursday evening at the headquarters of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cairo.
CAF Deputy General Secretary of Football and Development, Anthony Baffoe, was in charge of proceedings and he was assisted by Algerian football great Rabah Madjer, Eto’o and Nigeria’s Kanu.
The 48 teams were drawn into 12 groups of four teams in addition to the four winners of the preliminary round.
In Group A, Mali will join Guinea, Namibia and the winners between Liberia and Chad for size, while Group B has Burkina Faso, Uganda, Malawi and Djibouti/Gambia. AFCON 2019 quarter-finalists South Africa will have their hands full in Group C against Ghana and Sudan.
Ongoing AFCON 2019 hosts Egypt have been paired with Kenya, Togo and Comoros Island.
Preliminary round of the qualifiers will be played in October 2019, while the group stage will kick off in November and will end in November 2020.
Below is the full draw:
Group A – Mali, Guinea, Namibia, Liberia/Chad
Group B – Uganda, Malawi, Burkina Faso, South Sudan/Seychelles.
Group C – South Africa, Sudan, Ghana, Mauritius/Sao Tome.
Group D – Gabon, Angola, DR Congo, Djibouti/Gambia.
Group E – Mauritania, Central African Republic, Morocco, Burundi.
Group F – Mozambique, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Rwanda.
Group G – Egypt, Kenya, Togo, Comoros Island.
Group H – Zimbabwe, Zambia, Algeria, Botswana
Group I – Guinea Bissau, Congo, Senegal, Eswatini.
Group J – Tanzania, Libya, Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea.
Group K – Madagascar, Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia.
Group L – Sierra Leone, Benin, Nigeria, Lesotho.
