Uganda Cranes will have to fight for a slot at the 2015 Africa Nations Cup with elites Ghana and Togo plus another West African nation Guinea.
This follows a draw held at CAF Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt on Sunday which saw Ghana, Togo and Guinea pooled in Group E of the qualifiers and will be joined by Uganda as the fourth seed but the Cranes must contend with lowly ranked Madagascar and later overcome the winner between Mauritania and Equatorial Guinea if they are to reach the group phase.
Uganda plays away to Madagascar in the first round qualifier first leg on the weekend of May 16th-18th in Antanarivo before hosting the return leg a fortnight later between May 30th and June 1st.
Reacting to the draw, Cranes head coach Mulitin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic told Kawowo Sports that we have to approach one game at a time and adds that he has utmost respect for first round opponents Madagascar.
“We shall approach game by game. Before we reach the group stages, you have to first beat Madagascar and the winner between Mauritania and Equatorial Guinea”, Micho said.
“I know their (Madagascar) coach (Auguste Raux) very well and I expect a competitive match but we are not going to play the Madagascar that features in the Cosafa cup,” the Serb who will be taking his first full charge of qualifiers as Cranes coach added.
In other interesting draws, African champions Nigeria will face South Africa and Sudan in group A and a yet-to-be-determined winner of the preliminary qualifiers.
Giants Cote d’Ivoire and four-time African champions Cameroon have been drawn in a Group of Death alongside Congo DR.
Another treacherous group pits North African giants Egypt and Tunisia together with Senegal for company.
2012 champions Zambia will tackle 2013 surprise team Cape Verde and Niger.
The group stage qualifiers will begin in the opening weekend of September and end midway in November, while the final tournament will be played between January 17 and February 08.
Full draw below.
Second & Third Qualifying Rounds
Liberia vs Lesotho
Kenya vs Comoros
The winners of these ties will play against each other in the Third Qualifying Round.
Madagascar vs Uganda
Mauritania vs Equatorial Guinea
The winners of these ties will play against each other in the Third Qualifying Round.
Namibia vs Congo
Libya vs Rwanda
The winners of these ties will play against each other in the Third Qualifying Round.
Burundi vs Botswana
Central African Republic vs Guinea Bissau
The winners of these ties will play against each other in the Third Qualifying Round.
Swaziland vs Sierra Leone
Gambia vs Seychelles
The winners of these ties will play against each other in the Third Qualifying Round.
Sao Tome e Principe vs Benin
Malawi vs Chad
The winners of these ties will play against each other in the Third Qualifying Round.
Tanzania vs Zimbabwe
Mozambique vs South Sudan
The winners of these ties will play against each other in the Third Qualifying Round.
* Teams mentioned first will be play the first leg matches at home.
Fixture Dates
2nd Round : 16-18 May 2014 || 30 May-1 June 2014
3rd Round : 18-20 July 2014 || 1-3 August 2014
Group Stage
Group A
Nigeria
South Africa
Sudan
winner of Namibia/Congo/Libya/Rwanda.
Group B
Mali
Algeria
Ethiopia
winner of SaoTome/Benin/Malawi/Chad.
Group C
Burkina Faso
Angola
Gabon
winner of Liberia/Lesotho/Kenya/Comoros.
Group D
Cote d’Ivoire
Cameroon
DR Congo
winner of Swaziland/Sierra Leone/Gambia/Seychelles.
Group E
Ghana
Togo
Guinea
winner of Madagascar/Uganda/Mauritania/Eq Guinea.
Group F
Zambia
Cape Verde
Niger
winner of Tanzania/Zimbabwe/Mozambique/South Sudan.
Group G
Tunisia
Egypt,
Senegal
winner of Burundi/Botswana/CAR/Guinea Bissau.
NOTE: Group winners and runners-up of each group plus the third-best team will join hosts Morocco for the final tournament.
GROUP PHASE FIXTURE DATES
Dates : 5-6 September || 10 September || 10-11 October 2014 || 15 October 2014 || 14-15 November 2014 || 19 November 2014
