Izuchukwu Okosi
Nigeria’s U-23 side have been handed a relatively easy draw in the qualifiers for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, reports Prime Business Africa.
The draw for the U-23 AFCON which will be hosted by Morocco took place at the headquarters of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cairo on Thursday evening.
The U-23 Eagles affectionately called the ‘Dream Team’ following their Olympic games heroics in 1996 when they became the first black nation to win the football event of the quadrennial event were drawn bye in the first round but will face the winner between Tanzania and South Sudan in the second round.
A fixture against Uganda or Guinea awaits the Nigerian side if they advance to the final stages of the qualifiers.
The second round matches will be played between October 21-30, 2022 while the final round of the qualifiers is slated for between March 20-28, 2023.
The U-23 AFCON will serve as the qualifiers for the football event of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Below are the full results:
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
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
Follow Us