Sudan will host the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers for the CECAFA Zone.
The tournament which will attract seven teams including defending champions Uganda will take place in the capital Khartoum between October 28th to November 11th.
Mutasim Gafaar, President of the Sudan Football Association (SFA) told Sports News Africa that they are excited to be hosting a big tournament after many years. “We are making sure all logistics are in place so that we have a successful tournament,” said the SFA President.
The qualifiers were originally meant to be played between October 22nd to November 3rd, but the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) pushed the event to stage on October 28th.
Auka Gecheo, the CECAFA Executive Director has said after a successful U-17 AFCON qualifier held in Ethiopia a few days ago, they are optimistic that Sudan will also host a successful tournament and the region will produce the best teams to play at the U-20 AFCON 2023 in Egypt.
The hosts Sudan have been placed in A together with Burundi, South Sudan and Djibouti, while Group B has three teams Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia.
The best two teams from each group will qualify for the semi finals, while the two teams that make it to the final will automatically qualify for the U-20 AFCON 2023 to take place in Egypt.
In the U-20 AFCON 2021 held in Nouakchott, Mauritania, the CECAFA representatives Uganda lost 2-0 to Ghana in the final. Tanzania were the other team that represented CECAFA at the tournament.
