The draw for the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (AWCON) has been completed, with South Africa, Burundi and Botswana getting drawn into Group C with 11-time African champions Nigeria.
The draws were conducted at the Mohamed VI Complex in Rabat, Morocco by CAF Director of Competitions Samson Adamu and assisted by Cameroon and Inter Milan forward Ajara Nchout, and Morocco's former minister of sports Nawal El Moutawakel.
Nigeria lead the charge in Group C
Ahead of the draw on Friday, CAF offered seeded teams Morocco, Cameroon and the Super Falcons automatic spots in Groups A, B and C respectively.
After three rounds of draws, South Africa, Burundi and Botswana were revealed as the teams to join the three-time defending champions Nigeria, in the group.
The group stage will see the top two teams from the group, qualify automatically for the quarter-finals, with the third-place team, seeking a place in the last 8 as one of the two best losers.
AWCON 2022 Groups
Group A
Morocco (hosts), Burkina Faso, Senegal, Uganda
Group B
Cameroon, Zambia, Tunisia, Togo
Group C
Nigeria, South Africa, Burundi, Botswana
Can Nigeria win a historical 12-team AWCON?
Having qualified for the AWCON in February after a 3-0 aggregate win over Cote d'Ivoire, the Super Falcons will now turn their attention to the tournament in Morocco.
Nigeria are three-time defending champions, having won the tournament consecutively in 2014, 2016 and 2018, and have won the AWCON a record 11-times.
However, on no occasion did the Super Falcons conquer a 12-team tournament.
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The 2022 showpiece will be the first time that 12 teams: as compared to 8 in previous tournaments, will feature at the women's continental event.
The competition, to hold in Morocco from July 2 to 23, 2022, will also double as the African qualifiers for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The top four teams at the AWCON will automatically qualify for the World Cup with two more teams, proceeding to the inter-confederation play-offs to seek a place in the Australia-New Zealand-hosted tournament.