The road to the 2027 CAF U-23 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt has officially begun, with the first-round qualifying pairings now confirmed.
A total of 28 nations will battle across 14 first-round ties for the opportunity to advance to the second round of the qualifiers.
The first-leg matches are scheduled for 20 September, with the return fixtures set for 6 October, as the young national teams begin their campaigns to secure a place at the continental tournament.
The first-round draw has produced the following fixtures:
- 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone vs Burkina Faso 🇧🇫
- 🇲🇷 Mauritania vs DR Congo 🇨🇩
- 🇸🇹 São Tomé and Príncipe vs Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶
- 🇹🇬 Togo vs Libya 🇱🇾
- 🇹🇳 Tunisia vs Benin 🇧🇯
- 🇰🇪 Kenya vs Tanzania 🇹🇿
- 🇩🇯 Djibouti vs South Sudan 🇸🇸
- 🇪🇹 Ethiopia vs Uganda 🇺🇬
- 🇷🇼 Rwanda vs Sudan 🇸🇩
- 🇰🇲 Comoros vs Madagascar 🇲🇬
- 🇦🇴 Angola vs Namibia 🇳🇦
- 🇸🇨 Seychelles vs Botswana 🇧🇼
- 🇲🇼 Malawi vs Eswatini 🇸🇿
- 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe vs Mauritius 🇲🇺
The winners of these 14 ties will progress to the second round, where they will face the 14 exempted teams, including Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, Mali, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Algeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Niger, Gabon, Zambia, Congo and Guinea.
Ghana, one of the exempted nations, will face the winner of the Togo-Libya tie in the second round.
The first round therefore represents the opening hurdle for 28 nations, with only 14 emerging victorious to continue their journey towards Egypt.
The road to the U-23 AFCON Egypt 2027 is officially underway. 🇪🇬🏆
