The Rwanda U-23 National team will take on DR Congo in the first round of the qualifiers of the 2019 Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to be played next month.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) revealed the commencement date for the 2019 Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations which will be hosted in Egypt.
Following the draw, Rwanda starts their campaign against DR Congo in a two-legged fixture of the first round due next month. The first leg will be played in Kigali on November 12 and a week later, the return leg will be played in Kinshasa.
The winner between Rwanda and DR Congo will take on Morocco in the second round which will be played in March next year. The winner will proceed to the third and final round which will be staged in June next year.
In the previous qualifying campaign staged in 2015, Rwanda beat Somalia in the first round, registering 3-1 on aggregate before losing to Uganda 1-4 on aggregate.
Apart from Morocco, other teams which have been exempted from the first round include Algeria, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Africa, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
This will be the 3rd edition of the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations.
The tournament was initially scheduled to take place in the Zambia, but they withdrew from hosting in July 2017.
Egypt was announced as the new host nation of the tournament by CAF on 23 September 2017.
The tournament which is set to be staged from 8-22 November, 2019 will determine which three African teams will compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics men’s football tournament in Japan.
Nigeria is the defending champions after beating Algeria 1-0 in the final.
Round One Fixtures
1st & 2nd Legs: November 12-20
Rwanda vs DR Congo
Angola vs Namibia
Mozambique vs Swaziland
Botswana vs Malawi
Burundi vs Tanzania
Ghana vs Togo
Eq. Guinea vs Sao Tome e Principe
Cameroon vs Chad
Uganda vs South Sudan
Burkina Faso vs Niger
Mauritania vs Guinea
Seychelles vs Sudan
Kenya vs Mauritius
Libya vs Gambia
Ethiopia vs Somalia
Ferwafa.rw
The Express News
