Eritrea vs Eswatini on Wednesday will be the first AFCON qualifier for the East African nation since 2008.
Published on 24 March 2026
Eritrea will end an 18-year absence from the Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday when they host Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, in the Moroccan city of Meknes in the first qualifier for the 2027 tournament.
The first leg of the preliminary round at the 20,000-seat Stade d’Honneur has been moved from the east to North Africa because Eritrea lacks an international-standard venue.
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Eswatini will stage the return match on 31 March, and the overall winners will advance to the group stage, which will consist of 12 four-nation mini-leagues from September.
The East African nation, known as the Red Sea Camels, have not played in a major African national team competition since being drawn in a qualifier in Swaziland in 2008.
Eritrean football officials have never given any explanation for their absence from the Nine Nations Cup, but it is widely believed to be due to the players seeking asylum while playing abroad.
The United Nations estimates that about 80 football players and coaches have defected, citing political repression and long military service as the main reasons.
Eritrea has been ruled by President Isaias Afwerki since gaining independence from Ethiopia in 1993, and human rights groups consistently describe his rule as “highly repressive”.
Speaking in Morocco ahead of the 2025 Cup of Nations, Eritrean National Football Federation president Paulos Andemariam announced that the secession would end.
He said, “After positive discussions with our government, we have registered to play at the 2027 AFCON, and I believe we will have a strong team, which will also include many Eritreans who have played outside Africa.”
Local head coach Ermias Tewelde was recently replaced by Hesham Yakan, a former defender of the famous Cairo club Zamalek and part of the Egypt squad at the 1990 World Cup.
lack of match practice
The 24-man squad includes 10 locals and Eritreans who have played in Australia, Egypt, England, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines and Sweden.
Siem Eyob-Abraha is with English second-tier club Sheffield United, having previously been part of Manchester United’s youth team.
Eyob-Abraha and fellow Egypt-based striker Ali Suleiman are expected to start against Eswatini, whose previous 16 attempts to qualify for the Cup of Nations tournament have failed.
Yakan gives great importance to Suleiman: “He is a fast, left-footed striker who is scoring regularly in Egypt and also creating goals.”
The lack of match practice could prove costly against Eritrea. Their last competitive international match was a World Cup qualifying defeat in Namibia seven years ago.
FIFA removed Eritrea from national team rankings due to inactivity. Eswatini is ranked 46th in Africa and 159th in the world.
Sifiso Ntiben replaced Croatian Zdravko Logarusic as Eswatini coach after the southern African kingdom finished last in their 2026 World Cup qualifying group with just three points from 10 games.
He selected 13 locals and seven who played in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe for the third match against Eritrea. The previous two were 2008 Cup of Nations qualifiers, and both ended goalless.
There are five other preliminary fixtures, and Djibouti, Seychelles, Lesotho and Sao Tome e Principe will be limited by being unable to play at home due to inadequate stadiums.
Security concerns prevent Somalia from hosting Mauritius. They have advanced the first phase towards Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will co-host the 2027 Cup of Nations tournament on dates to be announced.
