Djibouti returns for 2021 Total Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers

Djibouti will return to the international stage for the qualifiers of the 2021 Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The CECAFA member who has been out of international football for close to two years was drawn to face Gambia in the preliminary round of the qualifiers that start later this year.

The Djibouti Football Federation (FDF) dissolved the national football team in July, 2017 in a bid to ‘stop poor results’. The move came after Djibouti lost 5-1 at home to Ethiopia in the first leg of their 2018 African Nations Championship qualifier.

In the draw conducted at the Marriot Hotel in Cairo, Egypt on Thursday, South Sudan was the other CECAFA team drawn to face Seychelles. The winners of the preliminary round will join one of the 12 groups.

“We are now ready to play at international level. Our teams will play in CAF competitions and we have entered the team for the CHAN and AFCON qualifiers,” said Djibouti FA President, Souleiman Hassan Waberi.

Uganda Cranes who were the best performing CECAFA team at the 2019 AFCON where they reached the Group of 16 have been drawn to in Group B alongside Malawi, Burkina Faso and the winner from the preliminary round between South Sudan and Seychelles.

Kenya’s Harambee Stars have been drawn in Group G alongside giants Egypt, Togo and Comoros Islands. The best two teams in each of the 12 teams will qualify for the 2021 AFCON to be hosted by Cameroon.

Groups

A: Mali, Guinea, Namibia, Liberia/Chad

B: Burkina Faso, Uganda, Malawi, South Sudan/Seychelles

C: Ghana, South Africa, Sudan, Mauritius/Sao Tome e Principe

D: DR Congo, Gabon, Angola, Djibouti/Gambia

E: Morocco, Mauritania, Central African Republic, Burundi

F: Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Rwanda, Mozambique

G: Egypt, Kenya, Togo, Comoros Islands

H: Algeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana

I: Senegal, Congo, Guinea Bissau, Eswatini (Swaziland)

J: Tunisia, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania

K: Cote D’Ivoire, Niger, Madagascar, Ethiopia

L: Nigeria, Benin, Sierra Leone, Lesotho