EMERSE Fae, the head coach that steered Cote d’Ivoire to the Africa Cup of Nations title on home soil in February, has been named as the main attraction of the draw for the 2025 tournament.
The Confederation of African Football announced today that the former Cote d’Iviore international who took over in the middle of AFCON 2023 before leading the Elephants to success, will be one of the Draw Assistants at the ceremony.
The AFCON 2025 qualifiers draw will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday afternoon, with Nigeria’s Super Eagles one of the teams to find out their qualifying group opponents.
Fae made Ivorian football history in February when he surprisingly guided the Elephants to continental glory after replacing Jean-Louis Gasset following a disastrous group stage.
The 40-year-old masterminded one of football’s most dramatic turnaround stories, guiding Cote d’Ivoire, who had lost 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea under Gasset, to their third African title after a 2-1 victory over Nigeria in the final.
The qualifiers draw will involve 48 teams who will be placed in 12 groups of four each by Fae and others draw assistants, with the top two from each section advancing to the tournament scheduled for Morocco from December 2025 to January 2026.
QUALIFIED NATIONS FOR AFCON 2025 QUALIFIERS DRAW:
Morocco (hosts), Cote d’Ivoire, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, NIGERIA, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
