David GOMBE
Mustapha Hadji, Serge Aurier, Aliou Cisse and Joseph Yobo are the African Legends that will assist at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 Final Draw that will take place at the Mohammed V National Theatre in Rabat on Monday, 27 January.
The 24 qualified teams will learn their opponents at 9:00PM EAT.
They African legends will not only pull the balls from the pots, but also be on hand to offer their insights into the groups for the tournament that will be played in Morocco from 21 December, 2025 to 18 January, 2026.
Joseph Yobo (Nigeria)
Yobo is a former Nigerian captain who made 101 appearances for the Super Eagles over a distinguished 13-year career.
He captained Nigeria to the AFCON title in 2013 and was a veteran of six continental finals tournaments to go with three FIFA World Cups.
He spent the majority of his club career at Everton in England and also played in Belgium, France, Spain and Turkey.
He featured 10 times for the Super Eagles at the FIFA World Cup matches in 2002, 2010 and 2014.
Aliou Cisse (Senegal)
Cisse was Senegal team captain when they excelled at the 2002 FIFA World Cup by reaching the quarter-finals in the tournament that was held in South Korea and Japan.
He didn’t win the AFCON title as a player but later won it as coach of the national team.
He won 35 caps as an industrious midfielder during a period when he played for Paris Saint-Germain in France, leading Senegal to the 2002 AFCON final where they lost out to Cameroon.
He became head coach of the national team in 2015 and would lead them through a golden period that included lifting the AFCON in 2021, and to FIFA World Cup qualifications in 2018 and 2022.
He was named CAF Coach of the Year at the CAF Awards in 2022.
Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast)
Aurier is a two-time winner of the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON having lifted the trophy in the 2015 and 2023 editions. The right-back has been a stalwart of the national team since his debut in 2013 and has 93 caps, scoring four goals.
His club career has taken him to the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur, and he is a two-time winner of the French Ligue 1.
He had the honour of being named in the CAF Team of the Year on four occasions between 2015 and 2019, showing his incredible consistency for club and country in that period.
Mustapha Hadji (Morocco)
Hadji is known as Morocco’s greatest ever players and was named African Footballer of the Year in 1998. He won 63 caps for his country and scored 12 goals, playing at two FIFA World Cup tournaments.
He netted the winner for Morocco against Egypt at the 1998 AFCON, the only team to inflict a defeat on the eventual champions. He also played at the 2000 finals.
He had a successful club career in France, Portugal, Spain and England, and in 2011 received the CAF Legends award for his services to the game.
Draw Procedure;
•The ball of Morocco will be drawn first from Pot 1, and it will go to position A1
•The balls from Pot 4 will be drawn sequentially to positions A4, B4, C4, D4, E4, F4.
•The balls from Pot 3 will be drawn sequentially to positions A3, B3, C3, D3, E3, F3.
•The balls from Pot 2 will be drawn sequentially to positions A2, B2, C2, D2, E2, F2.
•The remaining balls from Pot 1 (minus Morocco) will be drawn sequentially to positions B1, C1, D1, E1, F1.
AFCON 2025 Draw Pots
Pot 1: Morocco (A1), Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire.
Pot 2: Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, South Africa, DR Congo and Burkina Faso
Pot 3: Gabon, Angola, Zambia, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea and Benin
Pot 4: Mozambique, Comoros, Tanzania, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Botswana
