PARIS 2024: Nigeria drawn bye as U-23 AFCON draw holds Thursday

Nigeria’s U-23 national team are one of the four WAFU B countries drawn bye into the second round as the draw for the qualifiers of the TotalEnergies U23 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2023 will take place on Thursday 18 August 2022 in Cairo.

Benin, Cote d’Ivoire as well as Ghana are the other teams from WAFU B ecluded
The TotalEnergies U23 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2023 scheduled in June 2023 in Morocco and will serve as qualifying tournament to the Summer Olympics Paris2024 as 39 Member Associations are engaged in the African qualifiers.

Morocco are automatically qualified as hosts to the final tournament. The remaining 38 teams will play the qualifiers on home and away basis.

The First Round would be played between September 19 and 27 even as Nigeria joins the fray the following month with the Second Round First Leg fixed between October 21 and 23 while the Second October 2022/28-30 October 2022.

Should Nigeria progress from the Second Round, the First Leg and Second Leg of the finale Third Round will be played next year between March 20 and 28.

The participating teams in the 1st round (20 teams):

1 team from UNAF: Libya

3 teams from WAFU A: Gambia, Guinea Bissau & Mauritania

3 teams from WAFU B: Burkina Faso, Niger & Togo

1 team from UNIFFAC: RD Congo

5 teams from CECAFA: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Sudan & Tanzania

7 teams from COSAFA: Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique & Namibia

Teams exempted according to the ranking (18 teams):

UNAF: Algeria, Egypt & Tunisia

WAFU A: Guinea, Mali, Senegal & S. Leone

WAFU B: Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana & Nigeria

CECAFA: Sudan & Uganda

UNIFFAC: Cameroon, Congo & Gabon

COSAFA: South Africa & Zambia