NATIONAL senior football team, Taifa Stars will discover their group opponents for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals today. The official draw for the AFCON tournament will be held today, in front of the Sphinx and Pyramids just outside of Egypt’s capital Cairo.
Kicking off from June 21st to July 19th in Egypt, the tournament will be the first to be played in the summer after CAF decided to move it from being held in January and February.
This will also be the first of its kind as CAF stages a draw which will comprise 24 teams, with six groups of four teams each. During the draw four pots of six teams will become six groups of four teams ahead of the finals.
Taifa Stars Head Coach, Nigerian football legend, Emmanuel Amunike, will attend the draw, after guiding the team into the continental’s biggest football showpiece for the second time after the 1980 finals.
Amunike charges booked their ticket after a 3-0 victory over Uganda Cranes in the last group L match at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on March 24th this year, to end Tanzania’s 39-year wait to play in the AFCON finals. Uganda, who led the group, also booked their place in the 32nd edition of AFCON finals.
The group also comprised Lesotho and Cape Verde. Uganda and Tanzania joined Kenya and Burundi, to make four teams from the CECAFA zone, which will be waiting to know which group they will fall into.
Tanzania is in Pot 4 made up of the lowest ranked teams. Other teams in the pot are Namibia, Kenya as well as debutants Mauritania and Madagascar. Meanwhile, ahead of the eagerly awaited draw ceremony, the coaches of the qualified teams were able to exchange ideas during a workshop.
In particular, the technicians were able to familiarise themselves with “the latest refereeing guidelines”. And, regarding the video assistance referee, many teams hope to obtain guarantees on its application during the AFCON.
On the technological side, the CAF also explained the upcoming use of GPS trackers on players involved in the tournament to measure their performance and other indicators.
Above all, the technicians were able to share their experiences with each other and all the coaches are looking forward to today’s draw at the foot of the pyramids and the Sphinx in Giza.
The World Football governing body (FIFA), president Gianni Infantino will also attend the tournament’s draw at the Giza and Sphinx pyramids. Egypt will host AFCON 2019 after original host Cameroon was stripped of its duties due to delays in its preparations for the expanded 24-team tournament.
The opening match, which will feature the Pharaohs, is scheduled to take place at the 74,100-seat Cairo Stadium.
