AFCON 2025 Preliminary Round Draw [Full fixtures]

First leg

Somalia vs Eswatini
Sao Tome vs South Sudan
Chad vs Mauritius
Djibouti vs Liberia

Second leg

Eswatini vs Somalia
South Sudan vs Sao Tome
Mauritius vs Chad
Liberia vs Djibouti

The games will be played on a home and away basis between 20-26 March 2024.

The four preliminary round winners will join the 44 exempted teams for the group stage.

Meanwhile, CAF has reached an agreement in principle for the 2025 Cup of Nations to be played in July and August next year in Morocco.

Earlier this month CAF president Patrice Motsepe refused to confirm the dates of the next Africa Cup of Nations, with organisers left with little time to stage a qualifying competition were it to be held in January and February.

However, playing it in June and July next year would mean a clash with FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup which is due to take place in North America.

On Monday a member of the competitions committee told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity, that there was “an agreement in principle between CAF and the Moroccan Football Federation for the AFCON to be held during the summer, more precisely in July and August” 2025.

“This agreement was found with the support of FIFA after talks that began several months ago and which intensified during the last edition which finished this month in Ivory Coast,” the source added.

“The dates currently proposed are July 20-August 16 or 17, 2025.”

The last two Africa Cup of Nations were both pushed back from the original dates. The 2021 tournament, hosted by Cameroon, was played in January and February of 2022. The most recent edition had initially been planned for June and July last year but was rescheduled over weather concerns.

Qualifying for the 2025 AFCON has yet to start. A preliminary round is due to be played next month.

The 2027 Cup of Nations will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.