The journey to the 19th Africa Youth Championship Senegal 2015 kicks starts this weekend with the first leg matches of the first round of the qualifying series.
More than 20 teams will be involved in the first hurdle in the race for seven places for the continental youth championship next year.
The teams involved at this stage are drawn from across the continent, and look poised to kick start their campaigns on promising notes after months of intensive preparations.
There will be three matches involving teams from Southern Africa with the clash between Mozambique and Namibia in Maputo expected to produce fireworks.
At the Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre, hosts Malawi will square Botswana in a game that the coach of the former Ernest Mtawali remains upbeat despite concerns over their preparations towards the game.
“The team is seen to be well prepared and no doubt it will win against their counterparts. The problem which the team faced of going late for their camp should not cause worry,” Mtawali was quoted by local media.
Elsewhere, Swaziland will welcome Lesotho to Lobamba, a city located in the Western part of the country in the final game between COSAFA countries.
Burundi will travel to Djibouti as guests of Djibouti whereas Seychelles and Ethiopia lock horns in Victoria.
Gambia new coach Mustapha Manneh, appointed last month will face his first competitive test against Liberia in Monrovia, Sierra Leone versus Guinea in Freetown whilst Niger and Congo battle it out in Niamey.
At the El-Menzah Stadium in Tunis, the Carthage Eaglets of Tunisia will contend with Mauritania whilst Kenya and Tanzania sort things out in Kisumu.
The second leg matches will take place on the weekend of 25-27 April with the winners joining reigning champions Egypt, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia for the second round.
The final tournament will take place from 8-22 March 2015 in Senegal with the semi-finalists qualifying to represent Africa at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.
Fixtures
Saturday, 5 April 2014
Mozambique vs Namibia
Malawi vs Bostwana
Swaziland vs Lesotho
Seychelles vs Ethiopia
Djibouti vs Burundi
Sierra Leone vs Guinea
Niger vs Congo
Tunisia vs Mauritania
Sunday, 6 April 2014
Kenya vs Tanzania
Liberia vs Gambia
Chad vs Libya
Confederation of African Football (CAF) News
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