The draw for the Africa Cup of Nations will be conducted on Monday, January 27.
The event will take place in Rabat, Morocco, which is one of the cities where the tournament will be held at the end of the year.
The competition will begin on December 21 and the final will be played January 18.
It will overlap with the Premier League’s festive schedule and also between match rounds in the UEFA Champions League.
This will be the first time in AFCON history that the tournament will kick off in December and run over the Christmas and New Year period.
CAF secretary general, Veron Mosengo-Omba, admitted that the organizers had faced a “scheduling nightmare”.
But Clinton McDubus, a top football analyst and podcaster, does not think the dates will take away anything from the continental football festival.
“I think it’s going to be a great tournament,” he tells DAILY POST.
“The last one raised the bar to dizzying heights. This one should raise it even further.”
Ivory Coast are the current holders of the trophy.
Almost a year ago, the Elephants came from behind to defeat Nigeria 2-1 on home soil, to claim their third title.
This meant that the Super Eagles’ wait for a fourth AFCON title continues.
The West Africans have not won the title since 2013, when Stephen Keshi led a vibrant team of foreign stars and players from the domestic scene to glory in South Africa.
This time around, they will be led by Eric Chelle- whose Malian side impressed at the last edition.
“We are definitely one of the favourites,” McDubus insists.
“Having seen Chelle’s Mail team, I’m confident that he will do an excellent job, if he’s given full support without interference.
“I think he is tactically astute and able to structure a team properly.
“Previous managers have had clear deficiencies tactically so he should be a breath of fresh air, in that regard.
“Chelle also likes his teams to be proactive, something that our players desperately need, in order to be at their best.”
Nigeria will go into Monday’s draw as one of the six seeded teams.
That means they will not face any of Morocco (hosts), Ivory Coast (holders), Senegal, Algeria and Egypt.
However, there will be a few banana skins in the mix.
McDubus picks “Burkina Faso, Uganda and Mozambique.”
According to him, “They’re tricky currently.”
So what would be a favourable draw for the Super Eagles?
“Every team in Pot 2 is trouble so there’s no point having preferences,” McDubus admits.
“In pot 3, Gabon could be a good opponent to face. And Botswana or Zimbabwe in pot 4.
“These teams should give us the least problems.”
