Ghana will get a clearer picture of how they will get to the next African Cup of Nations which will come off in 2023 in neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire by the end of March when the six aggregate winners of the preliminary round have been decided.

The 12 lowest ranked teams on the continent have been paired to play each other in a two legged tie with the winners progressing to join the 42 highest ranked teams who will be placed in 12 groups of four teams each.

A draw was held over the weekend in Cameroon among the 12 lowest ranked teams with the pairings as follows:

The six match-ups are Eritrea v Botswana, Sao Tome and Principe v Mauritius, Djibouti v South Sudan, Seychelles v Lesotho, Somalia v Eswatini, Chad v Gambia.

First legs of the preliminary round fixtures will  start on 21 March with the first legs played at the home of the lower-ranked teams, whiles the second legs will start on 29 March.

The six aggregate winners will join the 42 highest ranked teams into the group stage of the qualifiers. The 48 countries will be placed in 12 groups of four teams, and Ghana will join the Afcon 2023 action at that stage. The top two teams in each group (24 teams) will qualify for Afcon 2023 in neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire.