Three teams from the CECAFA Zone have been drawn in the preliminary round of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 qualifiers.
The draw for the eight lowest-ranked teams according to the FIFA rankings were drawn on Tuesday in Cairo, Egypt.
Djibouti have been drawn to face Liberia in what promises to be a tough face-off over two legs, while Somalia will take on Eswatini. South Sudan will battle Sao Tome, while Chad (not CECAFA nation) will take on Mauritius in the other fixture of the preliminary stage.
According to the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF), the matches will be played on home and away between March 20-26, 2024. The four (4) preliminary round winners will join the 44 exempted teams for the group stage.
Another member from the CECAFA Zone Eritrea Football Federation (EFF) did not enter their team for the qualifiers.
During this stage of the qualifiers, the four lowest ranked nations will play at home first, with the return leg to be hosted by the higher ranked opposing nation.
Both home and away fixtures of the qualifiers are scheduled to take place in the next FIFA International Break between 20 – 26 March 2024.
CAF will soon announce the official draw of the group stages of the qualifiers upon the conclusion of the preliminary stages.
Morocco will host the 34th edition of TotalEnergies CAF AFCON.
TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Preliminary Draw Results:
M1 & 2 | Somalia vs Eswatini
M3 & 4 | Sao Tome vs South Sudan
M5 & 6 | Chad vs Mauritius
M7 & 8 | Djibouti vs Liberia
