Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE Warriors’ poor ranking could haunt them tonight when the draw for the 2025 AFCON finals is conducted in Rabat, Morocco.
The draw, to be attended by representatives from all the 24 nations that have qualified for the upcoming tournament, will be conducted at 8pm.
New ZIFA president Nqobile Magwizi, who was elected at the weekend, will be among the audience as the lots are drawn to determine Zimbabwe’s and other teams’ groups’ opponents.
At the draw the Warriors will join hosts Morocco’s Atlas Lions, Burkina Faso Stallions, Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions, and the Desert Foxes of Algeria.
The expanded Nations Cup will also have DR Congo, Senegal, Egypt, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda, South Africa, Gabon, Tunisia, Nigeria, Zambia, Mali, Comoros, Sudan, Benin, Tanzania, Botswana, and Mozambique going into the hat.
However, the Warriors will be among the unseeded teams due to their low ranking.
Zimbabwe, still working their way up after emerging from a FIFA suspension, are currently placed 121st in the world and 33rd in Africa.
Ahead of tonight’s draw, Zimbabwe, along with neighbours Botswana, are the two least ranked nations among the 24 AFCON finalists.
The low ranking could see them being placed in the same groups as the heavyweights of continental football like Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Cote d’ Ivoire, and Cameroon.
The Warriors will be making a sixth appearance at the tournament, having missed the previous edition due to an 18-month FIFA suspension that ended on July 11, 2023.
Organisers have said the stage is set for the draw to be conducted in the host nation, amid pomp and fanfare. They also said the draw gives an opportunity for the representatives of the participating nations to familiarise with the conditions in Morocco.
“The draw provides the national teams with the opportunity to assess the excellent match venues, training facilities, and hotel infrastructure in Morocco,” said a statement from CAF.
The 24 teams will be placed into six pools, each containing four sides, based on the current FIFA rankings. The top two teams in each group at the tournament and the four best third-placed sides advance to the round of 16.
The tournament will witness the 35th staging of Africa’s greatest sporting show and another chapter in the rich history of a competition first played in 1957.
“The TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 is expected to break all records set by the previous edition in Côte d’Ivoire.
“The AFCON is now the single biggest event on African soil, attracting a television audience of over 1.5 billion and more than 2.4 billion digital streams,” said a statement from CAF.
Morocco will play host to the continental finals for the first time since 1988, and much work has already been done in preparing for the 24-team tournament that will run from December 21 to January 18, 2026.
Morocco has world-class facilities, including the iconic Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca, which hosted the 1988 AFCON final where Cameroon edged Nigeria 1-0.
Zimbabwe qualified for the AFCON finals as runners-up of Group J, which included Namibia, Kenya, and group winners Cameroon.
The Warriors are looking to return to the big stage after missing the previous edition due to a FIFA ban. Now with a new ZIFA administration in place, preparations for the AFCON finals will be among the priorities.
Government through the national budget, has since allocated US$1m towards the Warriors’ preparations. Warriors coach Michael Nees, who was already in Morocco for a workshop, told the CAF website that everyone in his camp was excited by the qualification.
“I think everybody was very happy and satisfied, and also with the way we played. And now we have a little bit more time until the Cup of Nations finals,” said Nees.
