The Black Stars' hopes of a third consecutive appearance at the World Cup begins today when FIFA holds the preliminary draw in Brazil.
Some 203 countries will be part of the 824 qualifiers for the right to claim one of 32 berths at the 2014 World Cup finals.
Ghana, who made the last eight last year after a debut round of 16 finish in 2006 would join 51 other sides from the continent to compete for five qualifying berths when the draw for the African qualifiers is made.
Having been seeded in Pot 1, the Black Stars would avoid playing any of the top 10 sides namely Ivory Coast, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Cameroon, Algeria and Tunisia in their group.
The Black Stars will draw an opponent each from the rest of the three pots to form one of the ten groups in the second round of the qualifiers.
FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND
Pot 5 (countries ranked 29-40): Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo, Liberia, Tanzania, Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Namibia, Burundi, Madagascar
Pot 6 (ranked 41-52): Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Swaziland, Comoros Islands, Lesotho, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sao Tome e Principe
The 12 countries in Pot 5 will be drawn against the 12 from Pot 6, who will play at home first. Aggregate winners from November's two-legged ties will advance to the second round.
SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND
Pot 1 (ranked 1-10): Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Cameroon, Algeria, Tunisia
Pot 2 (ranked 11-20): Gabon, Libya, Morocco, Guinea, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Uganda, Mali, Cape Verde Islands
Pot 3 (ranked 21-28 plus two others): Benin, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Niger, Angola, The Gambia plus two first round pairings
Pot 4: the remaining 10 qualifiers from the first round
The 10 four-team groups will be formed by drawing together one team from each pot and each country plays three opponents at home and away.
The matches will start in June 2012 and conclude in September 2013.
THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND
A draw will split the 10 group winners into five two-leg ties, with the aggregate winners qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The first leg of these decisive matches will take place in October 2013, concluding a month later.
Brazil will host the competition from 12 June - 13 July 2014.