Kawowo Sports
Tuesday February 22, 2022
By DAVID ISABIRYE
The first leg of the AFCON 2023 qualifier between Somalia and Eswatini will be hosted at the Azam Sports Complex in Dar es salaam, Tanzania between 20th – 23rd March 2022
Somalia's Hassan Mohamed Adan greets some of the countrymen after a CECAFA game in Kampala
The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification match between Somalia and Eswatini will be played at the Azam Sports Complex in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
This development comes after FIFA relocated Djibouti’s home venue where Somalia had been using since the Somali civil war broke out in 1991.
Although Somalia owns the Mogadishu Stadium, which was originally built by China in 1974, the current security situation does not warrant hosting international matches.
For starters, the Mogadishu Stadium has all Olympic Athletics fields.
Following the civil war, this stadium was renovated in 2020 by the Government of Somalia but the reason it cannot be used is that the country is still working to ensure security and also in the process of building security in the Somali capital.
Somalia is expected to host Eswatini between March 20-23, while the return leg is scheduled to take place between March 27-29.
Ocean Stars Hendrik Pieter De Jongh has already named a provisional squad to start preparations on March 1 in Dar es Salaam.
Eritrea, Djibouti, and South Sudan are the other teams from the CECAFA region that will battle in the preliminary stage of the AFCON 2023 qualifiers.
The six winners in the preliminary stage of the qualifiers will advance to the group stage to join the 42 teams which enter directly.