AFCON 2025 : Preliminaries to start in March, sparrowhawks exempt
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) conducted the draw for the preliminary rounds of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2025 on Tuesday.
Eight (8) teams were drawn, with the Togo Sparrowhawks being exempted from this draw despite their absence from the last three editions of the CAN.
The teams selected during the draw held in Cairo, Egypt were Somalia, Djibouti, Sao Tome and Principe, Chad, Mauritius, South Sudan, Liberia, and Eswatini.
Following the draw, Somalia will play against Eswatini, Sao Tome will face South Sudan, Chad will compete against Mauritius, and Djibouti will play against Liberia.
These matches will be played from March 18 to March 26, both as home and away legs. Ultimately, 4 teams will qualify for the proper Elimination Rounds.
In the Elimination Rounds
Among these eight teams, the four least-ranked teams in the latest FIFA rankings will join the other 44 teams for the Elimination Rounds. Ranked 28th in the latest FIFA rankings in Africa, Togo is not involved in this preliminary round.
The Togo Sparrowhawks were notably absent from the CAN 2021 and CAN 2023, but they have climbed two (2) places in the rankings. This improvement is attributed to the performances of Paulo Duarte’s squad in the early stages of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Placed in Group B, Togo currently ranks 4th with 2 points, trailing behind Senegal, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo after just two rounds of these qualifiers.
