CAF Draws Eight CECAFA Sides Into First Round of U-23 AFCON 2027 Qualifying

The Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations found out their first-round fate on Tuesday, when CAF drew all eight of its representatives into round one of the TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifiers, held in Egypt.

Kenya were paired with Tanzania, Djibouti will face South Sudan, Ethiopia takes on Uganda, and Rwanda meets Sudan, according to Africa Top Sports, which confirmed all eight CECAFA nations landed in the opening round.

First legs are scheduled for September 28, with return fixtures following on October 6.

Winners move into round two in November against sides already through to that stage. The Ethiopia-Uganda winner faces Morocco, the Djibouti-South Sudan winner meets Senegal, the Kenya-Tanzania winner plays Cote d'Ivoire, and the Rwanda-Sudan winner takes on Cameroon.

Host nation Egypt has already secured its place at the 2027 finals. The remaining 42 competing nations, CECAFA's eight among them, are chasing seven available slots through three rounds of home-and-away qualifying that run until March 2027.