The exercise will be undertaken in Cameroon before the competition is held between January and February next year
Caf will conduct the draw for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations on August 17 in Yaounde, Cameroon, where the 24 participating teams will be grouped into six pools, each of four teams.
Based on the Fifa world rankings released a few days ago, the teams will be allocated to four pots each of six teams for the draw.
Draw Procedure
The top four teams, based on the rankings, will be allocated to pot one, where Cameroon - the hosts - and Algeria, the defending champions, are also there. Senegal, Tunisia, and Nigeria have also been put into this pot.
The other teams will be in pots two, three, and four based on their ranking in a descending manner. Former champions Egypt, as well as Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea are in pot two.
Cape Verde, Gabon, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, and Guinea Bissau are in pot three, while Malawi, Sudan, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, and The Gambia are in pot four.
The pots representing teams will be marked pots 1-4 while the pots for groups will be marked A to F. The Indomitable Lions will be fixed to position A1 while the remaining participants in pot one will automatically be drawn into position one of each group, B to F.
The same procedure will be undertaken for the remaining pots and each team pot must be emptied before moving on to the next pot.
Host Stadiums
The biennial tournament will be played across six stadiums in the central African country. In the capital, Yaounde, Ahmadou Ahidjo and Paul Biya Stadiums will host some games, Limbe Stadium in Limbe town, Japoma Stadium in Daoula, Bafoussam's Kouekong Stadium and the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua will host other matches.
The competition is scheduled to take place from January 9 to February 6 next year after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted its calendar that would have seen it conducted in mid-2021.