2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

This article details the qualification schedule and matches for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.

2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Tournament details
Dates	21 September 2022 – 28 March 2023
Teams	38 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	60
Goals scored	133 (2.22 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Arnaud Randrianantenaina Kairou Amoustapha (4 goals each)
← 2019 2027 →

Players born 1 January 2001 or later were eligible to participate in the competition. A total of 8 teams, including automatically qualified hosts Morocco, qualified to play in the group stages of this edition of the tournament, which also doubled as the first stage of the African qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in France.

Teams

Apart from Morocco, the remaining 53 CAF members were eligible to enter qualification and a total of 38 national teams entered its draw which was announced on 18 August 2022.^[1] Eighteen best teams from the previous edition and its qualification procedures were given a bye to the second round.

Main tournament edition hosts	Bye to second round (18 teams)	First round entrants (20 teams)
Morocco	Algeria  Benin  Cameroon  Congo  Egypt  Gabon  Ghana  Guinea  Ivory Coast  Mali  Nigeria  Senegal  Sierra Leone  South Africa  Sudan  Tunisia  Uganda  Zambia	Angola  Botswana  Burkina Faso  DR Congo  Eswatini  Ethiopia  Gambia  Guinea-Bissau  Libya  Madagascar  Mauritania  Mauritius  Mozambique  Namibia  Niger  Rwanda  Seychelles  South Sudan  Tanzania  Togo

Did not enter

•  Burundi
•  Cape Verde
•  Central African Republic
•  Chad
•  Comoros
•  Djibouti
•  Equatorial Guinea
•  Eritrea
•  Kenya
•  Lesotho
•  Liberia
•  Malawi
•  São Tomé and Príncipe
•  Somalia
•  Zimbabwe

Format

Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away, two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, away goals rule was applied and if still tied, penalty shoot-out (no extra time) was used to determine the winner.

Schedule

All matches were played during the FIFA International Window and its schedules were as follows:^[2]

Round	Leg	Date
First round	First leg	19–27 September 2022
	Second leg
Second round	First leg	22–23 October 2022
	Second leg	29–30 October 2022
Third round[3]	First leg	22–28 March 2023
	Second leg

First round

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Guinea-Bissau	2–4	Niger	0–0	2–4
Tanzania	3–3 (a)	South Sudan	0–0	3–3
Eswatini	3–2	Botswana	2–0	1–2
Mauritania	1–2	Togo	1–0	0–2
Ethiopia	0–1	DR Congo	0–0	0–1
Mozambique	5–1	Mauritius	3–0	2–1
Burkina Faso	2–2 (a)	Gambia	0–1	2–1
Libya	4–4 (a)	Rwanda	4–1	0–3
Madagascar	12–1	Seychelles	5–0	7–1
Angola	8–1	Namibia	2–1	6–0

Guinea-Bissau	0–0	Niger
	Report

23 September 2022 (2022-09-23)

16:00 UTC+3

Estádio 24 de Setembro, Bissau

Niger	4–2	Guinea-Bissau
Boulhassane 36' Amoustapha 47', 67' Amoumane 50'	Report	Camará 78', 88'

27 September 2022 (2022-09-27)

16:00 UTC+1

Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey

Referee: Adaari Abdul-Latif (Ghana)

Niger won 4–2 on aggregate.

---

Tanzania	0–0	South Sudan
	Report

23 September 2022 (2022-09-23)

16:00 UTC+3

Chamazi Stadium, Dar es Salaam

South Sudan	3–3	Tanzania
Lual 24' Malish 54' Angier 66' (pen.)	Report	Sopu 10' (pen.) Msengi 40' John 68'

26 September 2022 (2022-09-26)

16:00 UTC+2

Stade Huye, Butare (Rwanda)^{[note 1]}

Referee: Retselisitsoe Molise (Lesotho)

Tanzania won 3–3 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

---

Eswatini	2–0	Botswana
B. Dlamini 45' Simelane 48'	Report

23 September 2022 (2022-09-23)

15:00 UTC+2

Somhlolo National Stadium, Lobamba

Referee: Mathews Hamalila (Zambia)

Botswana	2–1	Eswatini
Molefe 30' Mbakile 45'	Report	N. Dlamini 75'

27 September 2022 (2022-09-27)

15:00 UTC+2

Obed Itani Chilume Stadium, Francistown

Eswatini won 3–2 on aggregate.

---

Mauritania	1–0	Togo
El Abd 90+4'	Report

24 September 2022 (2022-09-24)

19:00 UTC+0

Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya, Nouakchott

Referee: Alhasan Bass (Gambia)

Togo	2–0	Mauritania
Avotor 47' Laba 68'	Report

27 September 2022 (2022-09-27)

16:00 UTC+0

Stade de Kégué, Lomé

Referee: Tanislas Ahomlanto (Benin)

Togo won 2–1 on aggregate.

---

Ethiopia	Voided (0–0)	DR Congo
	Report

22 September 2022 (2022-09-22)

16:00 UTC+3

Abebe Bikila Stadium, Addis Ababa

DR Congo	Voided (1–0)	Ethiopia
Bongonga 74'	Report

27 September 2022 (2022-09-27)

15:30 UTC+1

Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa

DR Congo won 1–0 on aggregate, but later got disqualified and had its result forfeited for fielding ineligible players. Although Ethiopia advanced to the final round, they chose not to compete and thus Algeria advanced in their place.

---

Mozambique	3–0	Mauritius
Gaby 13' Lorenzoni 32' Sidat 84'	Report

24 September 2022 (2022-09-24)

16:00 UTC+2

Estádio do Zimpeto, Maputo

Mauritius	1–2	Mozambique
Aristide 90+1' (pen.)	Report	Sidat 14' Ivan 82'

27 September 2022 (2022-09-27)

16:00 UTC+4

Complexe Sportif de Côte d'Or, Saint Pierre

Mozambique won 5–1 on aggregate.

---

Burkina Faso	0–1	Gambia
	Report	Bojang 78' (pen.)

21 September 2022 (2022-09-21)

16:00 UTC+1

Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou (Benin)^{[note 2]}

Referee: Abubakar Abdullahi (Nigeria)

Gambia	1–2	Burkina Faso
Bâ 82'	Report	Dao 8' Botué 70' (pen.)

27 September 2022 (2022-09-27)

19:00 UTC+1

Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh (Morocco)^{[note 3]}

Burkina Faso won 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

---

Libya	4–1	Rwanda
Al-Qulaib 20' (pen.), 48' Yousef 52' Salama 88'	Report	Kamanzi 76'

23 September 2022 (2022-09-23)

19:00 UTC+2

Martyrs of February Stadium, Benghazi

Rwanda	3–0	Libya
Niyigena 38', 53' Rudasingwa 72' (pen.)	Report

27 September 2022 (2022-09-27)

15:00 UTC+2

Stade Huye, Butare

Referee: Souleiman Djama (Djibouti)

Rwanda won 4–4 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

---

Madagascar	5–0	Seychelles
Randrianantenaina 12', 38' Raheriniaina 16' Jinidy 49' Paul 87' (pen.)	Report

24 September 2022 (2022-09-24)

16:00 UTC+3

Mahamasina Municipal Stadium, Antananarivo

Referee: Dharamveer Hurbungs (Mauritius)

Seychelles	1–7	Madagascar
Aboudou 4'	Report	Randrianandrasana 7' Raheriniaina 11', 83' Randrianantenaina 18', 66' Fauré 54' (o.g.) Ratsimbazafy 85'

27 September 2022 (2022-09-27)

16:00 UTC+3

Mahamasina Municipal Stadium, Antananarivo (Madagascar)^{[note 4]}

Madagascar won 12–1 on aggregate.

---

Angola	2–1	Namibia
Bito 63' Picas 70'	Report	Tsuseb 58'

21 September 2022 (2022-09-21)

17:00 UTC+1

Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda

Namibia	0–6	Angola
	Report	Benvindo 5' Benarfa 23' Capita 29', 76' Bito 46' Melono 84'

24 September 2022 (2022-09-24)

16:00 UTC+1

Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda (Angola)

Angola won 8–1 on aggregate.

Second round

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Niger	1–1 (a)	Ivory Coast	0–0	1–1
Sudan	3–3 (a)	Benin	2–0	1–3
Tanzania	1–3	Nigeria	1–1	0–2
Guinea	w/o[A]	Uganda	—	—
Eswatini	0–1	Egypt	0–0	0–1
Sierra Leone	1–2	Zambia	1–1	0–1
Togo	2–2 (a)	South Africa	2–2	0–0
Congo	2–2 (a)	Tunisia	1–0	1–2
DR Congo	w/o[B][C]	Algeria	—	—
Mozambique	1–4	Ghana	1–2	0–2
Burkina Faso	0–0 (3–5 p)	Senegal	0–0	0–0
Rwanda	1–2	Mali	1–1	0–1
Madagascar	0–5	Gabon	0–1	0–4
Angola	2–3	Cameroon	2–3	0–0

Notes:

1. Guinea won on a walkover after Uganda withdrew from the competition.^[9]
2. DR Congo originally won the tie, but were later disqualified after competing in the second round for fielding ineligible players. Algeria advanced to the final round.^[10]
3. Algeria won on a walkover after Ethiopia withdrew from the competition.^[11][12]

Niger	0–0	Ivory Coast
	Report

22 October 2022 (2022-10-22)

16:00 UTC+1

Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey

Referee: Hamidou Diero (Burkina Faso)

Ivory Coast	1–1	Niger
Traoré 59'	Report	Amoustapha 46'

29 October 2022 (2022-10-29)

17:00 UTC+0

Stade de Yamoussoukro, Yamoussoukro

Niger won 1–1 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

---

Sudan	2–0	Benin
Nouh 44' Abdalah 80'	Report

23 October 2022 (2022-10-23)

15:30 UTC+2

Al-Merrikh Stadium, Omdurman

Referee: Abongile Tom (South Africa)

Benin	3–1	Sudan
Abdou 38' Dassi 42' Hounkpè 72'	Report	Winsavi 82' (o.g.)

30 October 2022 (2022-10-30)

17:00 UTC+1

Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou

Referee: Abdel Aziz Bouh (Mauritania)

Sudan won 3–3 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

---

Tanzania	1–1	Nigeria
Msengi 76' (pen.)	Report	Makanjuola 29' (pen.)

22 October 2022 (2022-10-22)

16:00 UTC+3

Benjamin Mpaka Stadium, Dar es Salaam

Referee: Souleiman Djama (Djibouti)

Nigeria	2–0	Tanzania
Ogunniyi 59' Makanjuola 67' (pen.)	Report

29 October 2022 (2022-10-29)

16:00 UTC+1

Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan

Referee: Gnama Aklesso (Togo)

Nigeria won 3–1 on aggregate.

---

Eswatini	0–0	Egypt
	Report

23 October 2022 (2022-10-23)

15:00 UTC+2

Somhlolo National Stadium, Lobamba

Referee: Retselisitsoe Molise (Lesotho)

Egypt	1–0	Eswatini
Faisal 70'	Report

30 October 2022 (2022-10-30)

20:00 UTC+2

Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria

Egypt won 1–0 on aggregate.

---

Sierra Leone	1–1	Zambia
A. Conteh 58' (pen.)	Report	Mutale 90' (pen.)

22 October 2022 (2022-10-22)

16:00 UTC+0

SKD Sports Complex, Monrovia (Liberia)^{[note 5]}

Zambia	1–0	Sierra Leone
Phiri 65'	Report

29 October 2022 (2022-10-29)

15:00 UTC+2

National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka

Zambia won 2–1 on aggregate.

---

Togo	2–2	South Africa
Laba 21' Wetchire 80' (pen.)	Report	Van Wyk 28' Cupido 31' (pen.)

23 October 2022 (2022-10-23)

16:00 UTC+0

Stade de Kégué, Lomé

Referee: Moussa Ahmadou Alou (Niger)

South Africa	0–0	Togo
	Report

30 October 2022 (2022-10-30)

15:00 UTC+2

Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg

Referee: Mashood Ssali (Uganda)

South Africa on 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

---

Congo	1–0	Tunisia
Bassinga 1'	Report

23 October 2022 (2022-10-23)

15:30 UTC+1

Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat, Brazzaville

Referee: Blaise Yuven Ngwa (Cameroon)

Tunisia	2–1	Congo
Labidi 9' Garreb 60'	Report	Bassinga 85'

30 October 2022 (2022-10-30)

15:30 UTC+1

Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi, Radès

Referee: Amin Omar (Egypt)

Congo won 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

---

DR Congo	Voided (4–1)	Algeria
Mujaya 3' Ikangalombo 20', 23' Bakata 56'	Report	Bekkouche 85'

23 October 2022 (2022-10-23)

15:30 UTC+1

Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa

Referee: Santillan da Costa (São Tomé and Príncipe)

Algeria	Voided (3–1)	DR Congo
Belkhir 10', 63' Bekkouche 48'	Report	Mwamba 58'

30 October 2022 (2022-10-30)

18:00 UTC+1

8 May 1945 Stadium, Sétif

Referee: Noureddine El Jaafari (Morocco)

DR Congo won 5–4 on aggregate but was later disqualified, thus Algeria advanced to the final round.

---

Mozambique	1–2	Ghana
Vilanculos 88'	Report	Afriyie 65' (pen.), 76' (pen.)

23 October 2022 (2022-10-23)

15:00 UTC+2

Estádio do Zimpeto, Maputo

Referee: Ibrahim Tsimanohitsy (Madagascar)

Ghana	2–0	Mozambique
Simba 45+1' Afriyie 54' (pen.)	Report

30 October 2022 (2022-10-30)

15:00 UTC+0

Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi

Referee: Bakary Gassama (Gambia)

Ghana won 4–1 on aggregate.

---

Burkina Faso	0–0	Senegal
	Report

23 October 2022 (2022-10-23)

15:00 UTC+1

Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou (Benin)^{[note 2]}

Senegal	0–0	Burkina Faso
	Report
Penalties
A. Ndiaye Seydi Guèye Diagne M. Camara	5–3	B. Dao Tinta Botué H. Ouédraogo

29 October 2022 (2022-10-29)

19:00 UTC+0

Stade Abdoulaye Wade, Dakar

Referee: Younoussa Camara (Guinea)

Senegal won 5–3 on penalties and advanced to the final round.

---

Rwanda	1–1	Mali
Diaby 44' (o.g.)	Report	Diomandé 43'

22 October 2022 (2022-10-22)

15:00 UTC+2

Stade Huye, Butare

Referee: Hassan Hagi (Somalia)

Mali	1–0	Rwanda
Traoré 35'	Report

29 October 2022 (2022-10-29)

17:00 UTC+0

Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako

Referee: Stanislas Ahomlanto (Benin)

Mali won 2–1 on aggregate.

---

Madagascar	0–1	Gabon
	Report	Ovono 65'

23 October 2022 (2022-10-23)

16:00 UTC+3

Mahamasina Municipal Stadium, Antananarivo

Referee: Celso Alvação (Mozambique)

Gabon	4–0	Madagascar
Mbenga 4' Ovono 21' Kabinambele 56' Nkoghe 80'	Report

29 October 2022 (2022-10-29)

15:30 UTC+1

Stade de Franceville, Franceville

Gabon won 5–0 on aggregate.

---

Angola	2–3	Cameroon
Zini 14', 88'	Report	Kaiba 7' Ndjantou 65', 73'

22 October 2022 (2022-10-22)

16:00 UTC+1

Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda

Cameroon	0–0	Angola
	Report

30 October 2022 (2022-10-30)

16:00 UTC+1

Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaoundé

Referee: Pierre Atcho (Gabon)

Cameroon won 3–2 on aggregate.

Third round

Winners qualified for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Niger	2–1	Sudan	0–0	2–1
Nigeria	0–2	Guinea	0–0	0–2
Egypt	2–0	Zambia	2–0	0–0
South Africa	1–1 (a)	Congo	1–1	0–0
Algeria	1–2	Ghana	1–1	0–1
Senegal	3–4	Mali	3–1	0–3
Gabon	1–1 (7–6 p)	Cameroon	1–0	0–1

Niger	0–0	Sudan
	Report

22 March 2023 (2023-03-22)

16:30 UTC+1

Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey

Sudan	1–2	Niger
Manu 88'	Report	Boulhassane 30' Amoustapha 78'

28 March 2023 (2023-03-28)

22:00 UTC+2

Al-Hilal Stadium, Omdurman

Referee: Godfrey Nkhakananga (Malawi)

Niger won 2–1 on aggregate.

---

Nigeria	0–0	Guinea
	Report

22 March 2023 (2023-03-22)

16:00 UTC+1

Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja

Referee: Sabri Mohamed Fadul (Sudan)

Guinea	2–0	Nigeria
Bah 61' Soumah 76'	Report

28 March 2023 (2023-03-28)

18:00 UTC+0

Moulay Hassan Stadium, Rabat (Morocco)

Referee: Yannick Kabanga Malala (DR Congo)

Guinea won 2–0 on aggregate.

---

Egypt	2–0	Zambia
Adel 73' Atef 88'	Report

22 March 2023 (2023-03-22)

18:00 UTC+2

30 June Stadium, Cairo

Referee: Tsegay Mogos Teklu (Eritrea)

Zambia	0–0	Egypt
	Report

26 March 2023 (2023-03-26)

15:00 UTC+2

Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola

Referee: Jeannot Franck Bito (Cameroon)

Egypt won 2–0 on aggregate.

---

South Africa	1–1	Congo
Maseko 67'	Report	Bissila 44'

23 March 2023 (2023-03-23)

15:00 UTC+2

Dobsonville Stadium, Johannesburg

Congo	0–0	South Africa
	Report

27 March 2023 (2023-03-27)

17:00 UTC+1

Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat, Brazzaville

Congo won 1–1 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

---

Algeria	1–1	Ghana
Bekkouche 90+2'	Report	Issahaku 86'

24 March 2023 (2023-03-24)

22:00 UTC+1

19 May 1956 Stadium, Annaba

Referee: Hassen Corneh (Liberia)

Ghana	1–0	Algeria
Issahaku 12'	Report

28 March 2023 (2023-03-28)

16:00 UTC+0

Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi

Referee: Younoussa Tawel Camara (Guinea)

Ghana won 2–1 on aggregate.

---

Senegal	3–1	Mali
M. Camara 14' Dramé 27' Sima 65' (pen.)	Report	Diarra 60'

22 March 2023 (2023-03-22)

19:00 UTC+0

Diamniadio Olympic Stadium, Dakar

Referee: Abdulsalam Kassim (Nigeria)

Mali	3–0	Senegal
Diallo 61' Doumbia 66' Sangare 72' (pen.)	Report

28 March 2023 (2023-03-28)

18:00 UTC+0

Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako

Mali won 4–3 on aggregate.

---

Gabon	1–0	Cameroon
Moussango 13'	Report

25 March 2023 (2023-03-25)

15:30 UTC+1

Stade de Franceville, Franceville

Cameroon	1–0	Gabon
Eto'o 25'	Report
Penalties
	6–7

28 March 2023 (2023-03-28)

16:00 UTC+1

Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaoundé

Gabon won 7–6 on penalties after a 1–1 draw on aggregate.

Qualified teams

The following eight teams qualified for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.^[15]

Team	Qualified on	Previous U-23 Africa Cup of Nations appearances1
Morocco (hosts)	7 July 2022	1 (2011)
Egypt	26 March 2023	3 (2011, 2015, 2019)
Congo	27 March 2023	0 (debut)
Gabon	28 March 2023	1 (2011)
Ghana	28 March 2023	1 (2019)
Guinea	28 March 2023	0 (debut)
Mali	28 March 2023	2 (2015, 2019)
Niger	28 March 2023	0 (debut)

¹ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Goalscorers

There were 133 goals scored in 60 matches, for an average of 2.22 goals per match.

4 goals

• Arnaud Randrianantenaina
• Kairou Amoustapha

3 goals

• Chemseddine Bekkouche
• Daniel Afriyie
• El Hadari Raheriniaina

2 goals

• Mohamed Islam Belkhir
• Bito
• Capita
• Zini
• Ivan Ndjantou
• Gloire Bassinga
• Jonathan Ikangalombo
• Emmanuel Ovono
• Abdul Fatawu Issahaku
• Mamadi Camará
• Nour al-Din Al-Qulaib
• Zidane Sidat
• Salam Boulhassane
• Success Makanjuola
• Clément Niyigena
• Ally Msengi
• Kevin Laba

1 goal

• Benarfa
• Benvindo Afonso
• Picas
• Melono Dala
• Boladji Abdou
• Gaël Dassi
• Soumaïla Hounkpè
• Tawana Mbakile
• Tefo Molefe
• Kouamé Botué
• Cyrille Dao
• Etienne Eto'o
• Djawal Kaiba
• Love Bissila
• John Bakata
• Akram Bongonga
• Gloire Mujaya
• Patient Mwamba
• Ibrahim Adel
• Abdelrahman Atef
• Osama Faisal
• Bongiswa Dlamini
• Neliswa Dlamini
• Sambulo Simelane
• Ben Kabinambele
• Hants Mbenga
• Jeremie Moussango
• Yohann Nkoghe
• Mamadou Bâ
• Momodou Bojang
• Sylvester Simba
• Algassime Bah
• Alseny Soumah
• Seydou Traoré
• Fadel Salama
• Ali Yousef
• Joël Jinidy
• Kalvin Paul
• Lalane Randrianandrasana
• Claude Ratsimbazafy
• Hamidou Diallo
• Thiemoko Diarra
• Ahmed Diomandé
• Kamory Doumbia
• Mamadou Sangare
• Kalifa Traoré
• Sidi Ahmed Mohamed El Abd
• David Aristide
• Gaby
• Ivan
• Gianluca Lorenzoni
• Horácio Vilanculos
• Gonzales Tsuseb
• Abdoul Rachid Amoumane
• Abiodun Ogunniyi
• Ashraf Kamanzi
• Prince Rudasingwa
• Mamadou Lamine Camara
• Ibrahima Dramé
• Abdallah Sima
• Affandi Aboudou
• Alie Conteh
• Ashley Cupido
• Thapelo Maseko
• Antonio van Wyk
• Rahan Angier
• Dani Lual
• Joseph Malish
• Ali Abdalah
• John Manu
• Al-Jezoli Nouh
• Kelvin John
• Abdul Sopu
• Bruno Avotor
• Aboudou Wetchire
• Adem Garreb
• Hamdi Labidi
• Joshua Mutale
• Andrew Phiri

1 own goal

• Pamphile Winsavi (against Sudan)
• Yoro Mamadou Diaby (against Rwanda)
• Graham Fauré (against Madagascar)

Notes

1. South Sudan played their home matches overseas, since none of their stadiums met the quality standards set in CAF's regulations.^[4][5]
2. Burkina Faso played their home matches outside the country, since none of the stadiums met the quality standards set in CAF's regulations.^[6]
3. Gambia played their home matches in Morocco, since none of their home stadiums met the quality standards set in CAF's regulations.^[7]
4. Seychelles played their home matches overseas, since none of their stadiums met the quality standards set in CAF's regulations.^[8]
5. Sierra Leone played their home matches in Liberia, since their only stadium which satisfies the criteria of hosting international matches – the Siaka Steven Stadium in Freetown – is undergoing long term renovations.^[13][14]