FIFA sets criteria for World Cup playoffs

World football governing body, FIFA has announced the criteria for the African playoffs for the 2014 World Cup.

According to FIFA, the draw for the final round of the qualifiers, which will be made up of the winners from 10 groups will be held September 16, 2013 at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.

Of the 10 teams, the top five teams based on the FIFA rankings as of September 12 will be seeded for the draw.

The matches will be played on a two-legged format, home and away; with the winners of the tie qualifying to represent the continent at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

At the weekend’s penultimate matches, five teams have booked their places for the playoff. They are Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia and Tunisia.

Ghana’s Black Stars must beat their Zambian counterparts in the ultimate qualifier on September 8 to be certain of a place at the next round.