The hosts of the 2017 African Cup of Nations will be announced today, and the draw for the qualifying stages will be made in Egypt.
52 teams, including the designated hosts, will be drawn into 13 groups of four, with the top team of each group guaranteeing their place in the finals of AFCON 2017, while the two best placed runners up will join them.
The hosts, touted to be Algeria, will feature in the qualifying stages, however their games will be classed as friendlies and the highest ranked team in the group beside them will be given a spot in the finals.
CAF, who will conduct the draw in Cairo tomorrow, have confirmed that the first round of fixtures will take place on the FIFA dates of 8-16 of June.
The lack of seeding means that any team can be drawn against any team in the group stages, so we could see a situation where four African 'giants' are pitted against each other in the qualifiers.
The draw for the 2015 AFCON qualifiers saw Bafana Bafana pitted against Nigeria, Congo and Sudan, however it consisted of just seven groups following preliminary stages, something that has been changed for this year's draw.
Morocco, who were previously banned for the next two AFCONs, will be entered into the draw after the Court for the Arbitration of Sport revoked CAF's decision and allowed them back in.
Algeria, Gabon and Ghana have all been linked as potential hosts for the 2017 tournament, however reports in the media of late have suggested that the decision will go Algeria's way.
