Ghana will take on Nigeria for a place at the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) after the regional powerhouses were paired in Wednesday’s qualifying draw.
The Black Galaxies narrowly edged out the Super Eagles on penalties to reach the 2022 finals, following a 2-2 aggregate draw in their previous qualifying encounter.
A total of 42 nations will compete for 19 spots at next year’s tournament, which features only domestic-based players. The finals are set to be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from 1–28 February.
Five of the zones will provide three qualifiers each, but the Cecafa region has been handed a fourth space because Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda will all be involved in the preliminary rounds despite qualifying automatically as joint hosts.
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) says the team “achieving the best result in the Cecafa qualifiers” will advance.
As a result, the finals, which will be held from 1-28 February next year, will feature 19 teams – an increase on the 18-team 2022 edition.
Defending champions Senegal enter the fray in the second round of qualifying, where they will face either Sierra Leone or Liberia.
Morocco, Tunisia and Libya have automatically qualified from the North African region, whilst the East African hosts will use the preliminaries to determine their extra qualifying spot.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has boosted the prize money for the 2024 edition, with the winners set to receive $2m (£1.53m).
The format of the tournament is yet to be announced.
