Ghana are among the seven top seeds for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, the Confederation of African Football has announced.

The Black Stars are ranked second on the CAF Ranking which combined the performance of the teams during the three last editions of the AFCON as well as during the qualifiers of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

African champions Nigeria top the ranking with 39.5 points with Ghana behind on 38 points.

Other top seeds for the qualifiers are Cote d’Ivoire, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Tunisia.

The qualifiers shall be played in the format of several preliminary rounds, as well as a group phase with seven groups consisting of four teams each.

The two top teams of each group will then directly qualify for the tournament, along with the 3rd place winners of the seven groups.

Out of the 51 countries engaged in these qualifiers, the top 21 teams listed in the CAF Ranking shall automatically qualify for the group phase.

The seven others partaking in the group phase shall be determined following the conclusion of the preliminary rounds, held from May to August 2014.

The draw for the qualifiers is scheduled for 27 April in Cairo, Egypt.

The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations will be hosted by Morocco in four cities- Rabat, Agadir, Tanger, and Marrakech-from 15 January to 7 February.