The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has conducted the preliminary round draw for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The draw was held on Tuesday at the CAF’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
The eight lowest-ranked teams in the last FIFA ranking were involved in the preliminary round.
AFCON 2025: Preliminary round 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 March 20 and 26, 2024.
The four preliminary round winners will join the 44 exempt 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, leaving organisers left with little time to stage a qualifying competition were it to be held in January and February.
