NAIROBI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan officials are hopeful to land a better pool for their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification campaign following the latest draw done by Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Only two teams Eritrea and Somalia have not entered their names for the campaign for 2021, which will have the finals played in Cameroon.
The Harambee Stars, who have returned to the AFCON for the first time in 15 years, have been placed in Pot 2.
"We are all hopeful of a better pool for our qualifiers because we need to improve on our performance by going through to the second round," said Nick Mwendwa, president of Football Kenya Federation (FKF).
CAF has since confirmed that the teams have been seeded into five pots based on their latest FIFA rankings.
"The draw will be conducted on Thursday in Cairo after the continental football governing body holds its General Assembly," said Mwendwa, who will be attending the assembly.
The first stage of the qualifiers will see the eight Pot 5 teams drawn into four pairings. Teams will then play against each other in a set of four matches with the winners qualifying for the group stage, where they will join the top seeds.
The second stage will have 12 groups comprised of one team from Pots 1-4 and the section winners and runners-up.
