San Francisco Frontiers - Arch rivals Ghana, Nigeria drawn together in CHAN qualifying

It will be the third time they have clashed in qualifiers for a unique international tournament, restricted to footballers playing in their country of birth.

Ghana triumphed on both previous occasions, winning 3-2 on aggregate in the maiden 2009 edition and on penalties after a 2-2 stalemate in 2023 qualifying.

Nigeria now have a chance to turn the tables. They travel to Ghana for the first leg between December 20-22 and host the return match the following weekend.

The overall winners qualify for the February 1-28 tournament, which will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. This is the first time more than one nation has staged the competition.

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will participate in qualifying although guaranteed places at the 19-nation finals, along with one other country from east Africa.

Eritrea are back in the CHAN for the first time since losing to Uganda in 2009, and were drawn against neighbours Ethiopia.

The country has shunned African national team and club competitions for many seasons and no longer features in the world rankings.

Numerous Eritrean footballers have sought asylum when they travelled, saying lengthy military conscription and a lack of political freedom were the main reasons.

Defending champions Senegal, who beat hosts Algeria on penalties after a goalless 2023 final, begin their title defence against Sierra Leone or Liberia.

The champions will be confident of being among the 19 finalists having beaten both countries twice in previous qualifying competitions.

Other former winners Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco (twice each), Tunisia and Libya are competing. Algeria, Egypt and South Africa declined invitations, citing fixture congestion.

B.Ramirez--SFF