Defending champions, Morocco, Sudan, Madagascar and Ghana complete Group C and would be hosted by the city of Constantine in the tournament scheduled to start from January 13 to February 4.

At the draw last Saturday performed by Emmanuel Agyemang Badu who played in the maiden edition of the competition in 2009, 18 teams were put into five groups of four teams each except groups D and E, which consisted of three teams.

The Black Galaxies will be returning to the competition, reserved for players plying their trade in their respective local leagues, after missing out in the last three editions because they failed to qualify.

Coach Annor Walker's side picked the ticket to the competition after they defeated their Nigerian counterparts last month via penalties after the two-leg qualifier ended in a 2-2 draw aggregate.

Ghana, a two-time finalist (2009, 2014) will be hoping to overcome the disappointment of not participating in the last three competitions to show the world the depth of talent that abounds in this country.

The host nation, Algeria, was polled in Group A alongside Libya, Ethiopia and Mozambique and is expected to open its campaign again in Ethiopia in the opening game on January 13 in the capital city of Algiers.

Group B, which will be based in the city of Annaba, has DR Congo, Uganda, Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal, while Group D will see Mali, Angola and Mauritius battle it out in the city of Oran. Group E, which will also be based in Oran, has teams such as Cameroun, Congo and Niger.

It is the first time 18 teams are participating in the competition that was first introduced in 2009 with all the teams divided into three different pots based on their previous performance in their last three CHAN appearances.