AFCON draw in Malabo; Ghana face Algeria, Senegal, South Africa
Ghana’s Black Stars will kick-off their 2015 Nations Cup campaign in Equatorial Guinea with an encounter with Senegal in Mongomo, after the two sides were pooled into Group C alongside former African champions Algeria and South Africa.
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The draw held by the Confederation of African Football in Malabo in the presence of Equatorial Guinean President, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, saw the host nation placed in Group A alongside Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon and Burkina Faso, runners-up at the last tournament held in South Africa last year.
Equatorial Guinea and Congo-Brazzaville will get the tournament underway with the opening game on January 17 in Bata, venue for Group A matches.
Former champions, Zambia, seeded ahead of yesterday’s draw, were placed in Group B, alongside Democratic Republic of Congo, Cape Verde and Tunisia.
Group B will be based in Ebibeyin.
The star-studded Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire will open their campaign against sub-regional rivals Guinea, after the 1992 champions were placed in Group D with four-time champions Cameroun and Mali in a West African affair.
Group D, which will be based in Malabo, reunites Cameroun and Cote d’Ivoire after they were in the same group for the qualifying stages.
The Indomitable Lions managed to put a poor World Cup campaign behind them and went unbeaten in the qualifiers, posting an emphatic 4-1 win over the Ivorians in Yaounde.
Ghana, who reached the semi-final of the last two tournaments, will seek improvement under new coach Avram Grant, who will be outdoored this afternoon in Accra.
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Assistant Black Stars coach, Maxwell Konadu, was among a high-profile Ghanaian delegation at yesterday’s draw, including the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mahama Ayariga, GFA president Kwesi Nyantakyi and former GFA Chairman, Alhaji M.N.D. Jawula.
Algeria, African champions in 1990, will be a team to watch in Group C following an impressive World Cup campaign which saw the North Africans reach the last 16 in Brazil 2014 .
Equatorial Guinea stepped in as hosts of the finals after CAF rejected a request from original hosts, Morocco, to postpone the tournament because of the country's fears over the potential spread of Ebola.
As a result, Equatorial Guinea were reinstated in the competition, despite being eliminated in the qualifying stages after they were penalised for fielding an ineligible player.
Addressing the dignitaries ahead of the draw, President Mbasogo gave an assurance that his country would put in measures that would safeguard the health of soccer fans who would troop to the country to watch the tournament.
He said the country agreed to host the tournament because of the spirit of African solidarity and dignity but not because they were adventurous .
He said like the HIV and AIDS pandemic, the EBOLA virus which had given a negative tag to Africa and almost halted the 2015 tournament seems to have defied scientific control, but said it was yet to hit the country .
Group A: Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Gabon, Burkina Faso.
Group B: Zambia, DR. Congo, Cape Verde, Tunisia.
Group C: Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Algeria.
Group D: Cote d’ Ivoire, Guinea, Cameroun, Mali.