NIGERIA’s Super Eagles will begin their campaign for the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) as they battle host nation Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea and  Guinea-Bissau in group A.

At the draws held Thursday night at the brand-new Parc des Expositions, Abidjan, the Super Eagles were pitched in group A ahead of the biennial tournament, which will kick off on 13 January 2024 and end on 11 February 2024 in Cote d’Ivoire.

Mozambique will contend in Group B alongside Cape Verde, Ghana and Egypt, while in Group C, defending champions Senegal will put up a fight against Cameroon, Guinea and Gambia.

In Group D, Algeria,  Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Angola will play each other, while in Group E, Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, and Namibia will test each other’s strength.

The 2030 World Cup co-host Morocco will slug it out alongside DR Congo, Zambia and Tanzania in Group F.

This AFCON will witness twenty-four nations competing in the tournament over four weeks to determine the country who will take the title from Senegal as champions or if the Teranga Lions can defend the title they won for the first time in 2021.

Also, this will be the 34th edition of the tournament and the second time Cote d’Ivoire will host after the first held there in 1984, where Cameroon emerged as winners for the first time.

Nigeria’s AFCON Record

The first time Nigeria featured at the Africa Cup of Nations was in 1963 and clinched their first trophy after 17 years in 1980.

In 1994, Nigeria emerged as the champion and nineteen years later, in 2013 won its third title.

Nigeria has won 3 AFCON titles, the host country- Cote d Ivoire has won 2, while Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau have no AFCON titles to their records.