Holders Morocco could face Senegal in the third round of qualifying for the 2027 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations, with the draw also setting up the possibility of a heavyweight Algeria-Mali clash.
The competition will be hosted by Egypt and will also determine Africa’s two’s representatives at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Eight teams will qualify for the finals, with hosts Egypt already guaranteed a place. The remaining seven spots will be decided through three rounds of home-and-away qualifiers.
Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Niger, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Zambia have all received byes into the second round.
The opening-round ties are scheduled to begin on 20 September, while the second round will be played between 9 and 17 November.
Morocco will begin their title defence against the winner of Ethiopia and Uganda. If they progress, the holders could meet Senegal in the final qualifying round in March 2027.
Senegal will first have to overcome the winner of Djibouti and South Sudan before a potential showdown with Morocco.
Another major potential tie could see Algeria face Mali. Algeria would need to defeat the winner of Malawi and Eswatini, while Mali must first overcome the winner of Zimbabwe and Mauritius.
Elsewhere, Cameroon will enter in the second round against the winner of Rwanda and Sudan, with South Africa among the teams they could potentially face in the final round.
The qualification campaign will therefore feature several potentially significant clashes, but the likes of Morocco-Senegal and Algeria-Mali can only materialise if the teams successfully negotiate their earlier rounds.
