Egyptian World Cup Defender Hesham Yakan Zaki to Coach Eritrea

The return leg will be played six days later at the same Stadium, with the winner joining other teams in the group stage of the qualifiers.

The two-legged ties will take place in March, with the six winners joining the 42 highest-ranked sides on the continent in the main group stage of qualifiers.

Eritrea will compete in the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, ending a 19-year absence from the continent’s premier football competition

Eritrea withdrew from the same stage of qualifiers for the 2023 Afcon, and were excluded from the draw for the 2025 edition.

The national team also pulled out of qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup just a week before they were due to play their first game against the continent’s top-ranked side Morocco.

The Eritrean Football Federation has completed registration requirements and submitted guarantees to the Confederation of African Football, clearing the way for the national team to participate in the upcoming qualifying campaign.

Federation president Paulos Weldehaimanot Andemariam confirmed the development in comments published by CECAFA, the regional football body for East and Central Africa, while attending the current AFCON tournament in Morocco. No formal statement has yet been released in Eritrea.

Eritrea last took part in AFCON qualifiers during the 2008 cycle. Its most recent qualifying match was played in September 2007, when the team finished second in its group behind Angola and recorded wins over Kenya both at home and away.

In recent months, CAF has revised its regulations, increasing fines and suspensions for federations that fail to honor official fixtures. Eritrean football officials have acknowledged that these changes played a role in renewed coordination with government authorities to secure approval for participation.

The AFCON 2027 will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It will be the first time that the AFCON is hosted in East Africa.