Ghana, Ivory Coast top seeds in African Cup draw

Ghana and Ivory Coast joined African Cup of Nations co-hosts Guinea and Equatorial Guinea as the top-seeded teams in the draw for next year’s tournament. The Confederation of African Football decided Wednesday that four-time champion Ghana and 1992 winner Ivory Coast would be top seeds in Group B and D, respectively, based on previous record and qualifying performance. Equatorial Guinea is the top seed in Group A and Gabon leads Group C for the four-group, 16-team event. The other 12 teams will be seeded into groups at the Oct. 29 draw in Equatorial Guinea’s capital city of Malabo. The continental championship will be played from Jan. 21 to Feb. 12 in four cities across the pair of West African countries.