Bafana Bafana draw Morocco and Zimbabwe in 2023 Afcon qualifiers

Bafana Bafana was drawn alongside Morocco, neighbours Zimbabwe and Liberia in the 2023 African Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers for the tournament taking place in the Ivory Coast in May and June next year.

South Africa was seeded in pot 2 during the draw conducted in Johannesburg on Tuesday evening by Bafana legend Lucas Radebe and former Ivory Coast and Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou.

Hugo Broos' men were pooled in Group K with the tournament starting on 30 May.

The top two finishers in the group qualify for the 24-team tournament. 

Bafana, who failed to qualify for the 2022 Afcon in Cameroon, won by Senegal, recently faced Zimbabwe during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, which SA won 1-0 at home and drew 0-0 away.

Zimbabwe, however, have recently been suspended by FIFA but still formed part of the draw.

Morocco's only Afcon title came in 1976 and their best finish since was second in 2004.

Group A: Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome e Principe or Mauritius

Group B: Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Togo, Eswatini

Group C: Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia, Burundi

Group D: Egypt, Guinea, Malawi, Ethiopia

Group E: Ghana, Madagascar, Angola, Central African Republic

Group F: Algeria, Uganda, Niger, Tanzania

Group G: Mali, Congo Brazzaville, Gambia, South Sudan

Group H: Ivory Coast (hosts), Zambia, Comoros, Lesotho

Group I: Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Mauritania, Sudan

Group J: Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Botswana

Group K: Morocco, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Liberia

Group L: Senegal (holders), Benin, Mozambique, Rwanda