Football: African World Cup heats start next April

The African preliminary heats for the 2002 World Cup will start next April 7 or 9, the World Football governing body FIFA said on Friday.

Morocco will play Gambia in the first preliminary round. The away match will be played in Gambia and the return game in Morocco.

Africa was divided into five groups of 25 seeded nations, who will play another group of 25 "weaker" teams.

The 25 teams that will survive the first round (one two-leg match) will be drawn into 5 groups of 5. The five nations that top the five groups will qualify for the World Cup finals.