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CHAN 2022 Qualifiers: Ethiopia to Face South Sudan in First Round

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia will face South Sudan in the first round of the 2022 Championship for Africa Nations (CHAN) qualifiers.

The TotalEnergies CHAN 2022 qualifiers draw took place on Thursday under the watchful eye of Algerian legend Djamal Menad in Cairo.

A total of 46 nations were entered in the draw for the tournament of locally-based players, according to the Confederation of African football (CAF). 18 teams will participate in the final tournament.

Nine teams from the Central-East Zone entered the qualifiers organized as per Zone, and three teams will qualify for the final tournament.

Ethiopia has to play two rounds of matches to take one of the three spots assigned for CE Zone.

The Walias will first face neighbouring South Sudan over a two-legs. The first match will be played on 24 July with the return game a week later.

The aggregate winner will then play Rwanda in the second round over the two-legs. This round will be held between 26 and 28 August, with the return leg also a week later.

The winner on aggregate progresses to the 2022 Championship for Africa Nations (CHAN).

The tournament, which was delayed twice due to a knock-on effect of the Covid-19 pandemic and the World Cup in Qatar, will be held in Algeria from Jan 8 to 31 in 2023.

Host Algeria, already qualified as host nation, will be waiting for the other qualified teams for the final tournament. Defending champion Morocco and Libya are automatically qualified in the Northern zone as they were the only teams to engage.

Featured image caption: Ethiopia vs Cape Verde in Yaoundé during the AFCON 2021. The seeding system was based on the results of the last three editions of CHAN. [Photo CAF]