AFCON 2023 Qualifiers: Schedule, fixtures, telecast & more

Matchday 3 of the qualifiers will begin from 22nd March 2023.

Matchday 3 of the AFCON 2023 Qualifiers is fast approaching. The 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations or AFCON 2023 is scheduled to take place in Ivory Coast. The host nation will be organizing the tournament for the second time.

Initially, the tournament was planned to be held in the northern hemisphere summer for the third time since the 2019 edition to avoid scheduling conflicts with European club teams and competitions. However, CAF announced the postponement of the event to January and February 2024 on 3 July 2022 due to weather concerns in the host nation during the summer.

2023 AFCON Qualifiers

A total of 48 national teams, consisting of 42 direct entries and six winners from the preliminary round, were divided into twelve groups of four teams from Group A to Group L. Earlier, the 48 national teams were seeded into four pots of twelve based on the FIFA World Rankings that came out on 31 March 2022.

Ivory Coast, the hosts of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, will take part in the qualifiers, but their guaranteed spot in the finals means only the highest-ranked team in their group apart from them will qualify. The other teams' qualifications will be determined by their matches and results against Ivory Coast.

Kenya and Zimbabwe have been disqualified from the qualifying race for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations due to FIFA suspensions over "political interference" in football administration. CAF had included them in the official draw on the condition that the suspensions must be lifted two weeks before their first matchday, but this did not happen, and the two teams cannot vie for a spot in the 2023 AFCON. CAF stated that Groups C and K, which included Kenya and Zimbabwe, will still produce two qualified teams, despite their disqualification.

Now that two matchdays have passed, it's time to shift our focus to matchday 3, which is set to commence from March 22, 2023.

Which country will host the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations?

Ivory Coast will host the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

When will the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations take place?

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations will take place in Jan-Feb 2024.

Who are the defending champions of the Africa Cup of Nations?

Senegal is the defending champions of the Africa Cup of Nations.

When will the qualification for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations take place?

The qualification for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations will take place from 23rd March 2022 to September 2023.

How many teams qualify for the final tournament?

The twelve group winners and runners-up will qualify for the final tournament.

Qualification Schedule

AFCON 2023 qualifiers Matchday 3 schedule

22nd March 2023

Benin vs Rwanda

Sierra Leone vs Sao Tome and Principe

23rd March 2023

Madagascar vs Central African Republic

Congo vs South Sudan

Zambia vs Lesotho

Ghana vs Angola

24th March 2023

Gabon vs Sudan

Algeria vs Niger

DR Congo vs Mauritania

Uganda vs Tanzania

Ivory Coast vs Comoros

Cape Verde vs Eswatini

Nigeria vs Guinea-Bissau

South Africa vs Liberia

25th March 2023

Mali vs Gambia

Equatorial Guinea vs Botswana

Senegal vs Mozambique

Egypt vs Malawi

Burkina Faso vs Togo

Tunisia vs Libya

Cameroon vs Namibia

Guinea vs Ethiopia

AFCON 2023 qualifiers Matchday 4 Schedule

26th March 2023

Lesotho vs Zambia

Sao Tome and Principe vs Sierra Leone

27th March 2023

Rwanda vs Benin

South Sudan vs Congo

Central African Republic vs Madagascar

Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria

Angola vs Ghana

Niger vs Algeria

28th March 2023

Sudan vs Gabon

Ethiopia vs Guinea

Eswatini vs Cape Verde

Malawi vs Egypt

Botswana vs Equatorial Guinea

Namibia vs Cameroon

Liberia vs South Africa

Tanzania vs Uganda

Mozambique vs Senegal

Gambia vs Mali

Comoros vs Ivory Coast

Togo vs Burkina Faso

Libya vs Tunisia

Mauritania vs DR Congo

Telecast details

India – CAF TV youtube channel

UK – Eurosport or Eurosport app

USA – beIN Sports

Nigeria – SuperSport

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