CAIRO-(MaraviPost)-Malawi’s journey to the 2027 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations will begin with a 1st Round tie against Eswatini, after the draw was conducted this afternoon in Cairo.
The winner of the Malawi vs Eswatini match will advance to a final qualifying round where they could face Algeria.
That tie will also involve the winner between Zimbabwe and Mauritius, with the winner of that 1st Round game set to play Mali in the 2nd Round.
According to CAF, Zimbabwe’s Young Warriors will host the first leg against Mauritius on 28th September 2026.
Apparently, a total of 14 teams have been exempted from the 1st Round based on their points ranking and will enter in the 2nd Round. The exempted teams are Morocco, Mali, Ghana, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Guinea, Niger, Algeria, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Zambia and Senegal.
CAF has divided the 14 teams into two pots based on ranking.
Pot 4 consists of the lowest-ranked exempted teams. These are Niger, Algeria, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Zambia and Senegal.
Pot 5 consists of the highest-ranked exempted teams. These are Morocco, Mali, Ghana, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Guinea.
According to CAF, the qualification process will work as follows. One team from Pot 4 will be drawn against a winner from the 1st Round. One team from Pot 5 will also be drawn against another 1st Round winner. The winners of those two ties will then face each other in the 3rd Round.
The process will continue until all 14 teams from the 2nd Round are determined, with the final winners progressing to the AFCON finals in Egypt 2027.
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