_{The national U-23 teams of Rwanda and Tanzania have qualified for the second round in the TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 qualifiers.}

_{Tanzania sealed through to the next round after seeing off South Sudan, while Rwanda ejected Libya in the first round.}

_{After a goalless draw in the first round played in Dar es Salaam over a week ago, Tanzania settled for a 3-3 draw against a hard fighting South Sudan team in the return leg played at the Huye Stadium in Rwanda on Monday. The Tanzania team qualified on an away goals rule.}

_{It was Rwanda’s chance to turn round their 4-1 first leg defeat and they proved a point by silencing Libya 3-0 in the return leg match played at the Huye Stadium on Tuesday.}

_{Skipper Clement Niyigena netted a brace, while Prince Rudasingwa netted the other to ensure Rwanda qualified on an away goals rule after the teams tied 4-4 on aggregate. “We are happy to qualify for the next round,” said Rwanda’s captain Niyigena after the match.}

_{In the other second leg match played on Tuesday Ethiopia’s U-23 team lost 1-0 away to the Democratic Republic of Congo in a match played in Kinsasha. The DR Congo team progressed to the next round on a 1-0 goal aggregate.}

_{Rwanda will now face Mali in the second round, while Tanzania take on Nigeria.}

_{The other teams from the CECAFA region Uganda and Sudan will also be in action in the second round against Guinea and Benin respectively. The second round matches will be played October 21–23 for the first leg and October 28–30, 2022 for the second leg matches, and the third round matches for both first and second legs will be played between March 20 and March 28, 2023.}

_{The final AFCON U-23 tournament will be played in Morocco in June, 2023. The tournament will also serve as the qualification process for the Olympic Games.}

_{CECAFA teams South Sudan and Tanzania have been drawn to face off in the first round of the qualifiers of the TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023.}

_{The draw conducted on Thursday in Cairo, Egypt has only six CECAFA members who registered drawn to play in the qualifiers. Ethiopia have been drawn to face DR Congo, while Rwanda will take on Libya.}

_{The winner between Tanzania and South Sudan will battle Nigeria in the second round}.

_{Uganda and Sudan who have better ranking points will wait to start their campaign in the second round. Sudan will face Benin, while Uganda take on Guinea.}

_{According to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the first leg and second leg matches will be played between September 19 – 27th, 2022. Morocco will hos the AFCON U-23 event in 2023.}

_{First Round}

_{M. 1 & 2: Guinea-Bissau vs Niger}

_{M. 3 & 4: Tanzania vs South Sudan}

_{M. 5 & 6: Eswatini vs Botswana}

_{M. 7 & 8: Mauritania vs Togo}

_{M. 9 & 10: Ethiopia vs DR Congo}

_{M. 11 & 12: Mozambique vs Mauritius}

_{M. 13 & 14: Burkina Faso vs Gambia}

_{M. 15 & 16: Libya vs Rwanda}

_{M. 17 & 18: Madagascar vs Seychelles}

_{M. 19 & 20: Angola vs Namibia}

_{Second Round}

_{M. 21 & 22: Winner 1 & 2 / Côte d’Ivoire}

_{M. 23 & 24: Sudan vs Benin}

_{M. 25 & 26: Winner 3 & 4 vs Nigeria}

_{M. 27 & 28: Guinea vs Uganda}

_{M. 29 & 30: Winner 5 & 6 vs Egypt}

_{M. 31 & 32: Sierra Leone vs Zambia}

_{M. 33 & 34: Winner 7 & 8 vs South Africa}

_{M. 35 & 36: Congo vs Tunisia}

_{M. 37 & 38: Winner 9 & 10 vs Algeria}

_{M. 39 & 40: Winner 11 & 12 vs Ghana}

_{M. 41 & 42: Winner 13 & 14 vs Senegal}

_{M. 43 & 44: Winner 15 & 16 vs Mali}

_{M. 45 & 46: Winner 17 & 18 vs Gabon}

_{M. 47 & 48: Winner 19 & 20 vs Cameroon}

_{Third Round}

_{M. 49 & 50: Winner 21/22 vs winner 23/24}

_{M. 51 & 52: Winner 25/26 vs winner 27/28}

_{M. 53 & 54: Winner 29/30 vs winner 31/32}

_{M. 55 & 56: Winner 33/34 vs winner 35/36}

_{M. 57 & 58: Winner 37/38 vs winner 39/40}

_{M. 59 & 60: Winner 41/42 vs winner 43/44}

_{M. 61 & 62: Winner 45/46 vs winner 47/48}