CAIRO, April 29- Ghana’s Black Stars have been drawn against eastern neighbours Togo and Guinea in Group E of the qualifying stage for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations with the group to be completed by the winners of the Madagascar/Uganda and Mauritania/Equatorial Guinea ties for the remaining automatic slot for Group E.
The Stars are the top seeds at the draw conducted at the CAF Secretariat in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday, which involved 49teams.
According to the draw, the first round matches involving Madagascar/Uganda and Mauritania/Equatorial Guinea will take place on May 16-18 (first leg) and May 30-31 or June 1 (second leg). The second round to be played between the winners of the two matches has been scheduled for July 18-20 (first leg) and Aug 1-3 (second leg).
Meanwhile, the Stars will be begin their campaign at the final round with a home fixture against the winner of the second round tie on Sept 5-6 before engaging neighbours Togo four days later in Lome. The Stars will next travel to Conakry on Oct 10-11 to face Guinea before hosting the Guineans in the reverse fixture on Oct 15.
The penultimate game of the Stars will be away to the winner of the second round on Nov 14-15 before hosting Togo in the final fixture on Nov 19, 2014.
The winners of the seven groups and runner-up of each group plus the third-best team will join hosts Morocco for the final tournament.
The Stars are highly tipped to grab at least one of the automatic slots in the group to achieve their 20th appearance at the showpiece African football tournament. The finals of the tournament will be held from Jan 17 to Feb 8, 2015 in Morocco.
The draw:
Group A: Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Winner of Match 37/38
Group B: Mali, Algeria, Ethiopia, Winner of Match 43/44
Group C: Burkina Faso, Angola, Gabon, Winner of Match 33/34
Group D: Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, DR Congo, Winner Match 41/42
Group E: Ghana, Togo, Guinea, Winner Match 35/36
Group F: Zambia, Cape Verde, Niger, Winner Match 45/46
Group G: Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Winner Match 39/40
Group winners and runner-up of each group plus the third-best team will join hosts Morocco for the final tournament.
SOURCE: GNA
