Ethiopia have been drawn in a tricky Group A alongside hosts Algeria,Libya and Mozambique after the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) draw was conducted on Saturday evening at the Opera House in Algiers.
The four-time Cecafa Champions rae making a return to the tournament for the first time in six years. They will be hoping to improve their performances as they have never gone past the group stages.
Record champions DR Congo headline Pool B that has neighbours Uganda, Ivory Coast and Senegal. Defending champions Morocco are in Pool C together with Sudan, Madagascar as well as Ghana.
Pool D and E are made up of three teams each and feature Mali, Angola and Mauritania on one side and Cameroon, Congo and Niger on the other.
The draw was attended by African football legends including Mohamed Nasnoush (Libya), Aymen Mathlouthi (Tunisia) and Robert Kidiaba (DR Congo).
The phenomena Albelmoumene Djabou (Algeria), Hytham Mustafa and Mohamed Tahir (Sudan) as well as Emmanuel Agyeman-Badu (Ghana) were also in attendance.
Only four teams have had the privilege of winning the trophy reserved for players playing in their national leagues: DR Congo (2009 and 2016), Morocco (2018 and 2020), Tunisia (2011) and Libya (2014).
For the first time,18 teams have qualified for competition scheduled for 13 January to 4 February 2023 in Algeria.