Nations Cup draw is set

THE 2012 Africa Cup of Nations draw will be made on October 29 in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, the organisers said

Co-hosts Equatorial Guinea and Gabon are automatic participants in the biennial African football showcase and Botswana and Ivory Coast have filled two of the 14 qualifying places.

The identity of the other 12 teams will be known not later than October 9 when the final elimination matches are scheduled in a six-round competition that began last September.

Egypt, winners of the tournament a record seven times including the last three editions, are unlikely to be involved in the draw as they have failed to win any of four qualifiers and lie at the bottom of a group headed by South Africa.

Cameroon, four-time winners of the Cup of Nations, are another African football power in danger of missing the showcase as they trail Senegal and Democratic Republic of Congo in another pool.

Confederation of African Football secretary general Hicham El Amrani, other CAF officials and African football stars will make the draw in which the 16 countries are split into four mini-leagues.

Group winners and runners-up advance to the quarterfinals of a tournament that will kick off on January 21 and conclude with the final on February 12 in Gabon's capital, Libreville.

The 2012 Cup of Nations will be the last staged in an even year with the following edition due just one year later in Libya, a venue likely to be changed because of the warfare in that country.

CAF said the change was necessary to avoid every second African tournament being staged just six months before a Fifa World Cup.