2016 CHAN qualifiers begin this weekend

The final 16-team field for the 2016 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Rwanda will be decided over the next two weekends with 29 matches across the continent.

In the Northern Zone, the final round of group stage matches will be held from October 19-25, with the trio of Tunisia, Morocco and Libya (the defending CHAN champions) battling for two places at the finals.

As it stands, Morocco are top of the pile with four points, Libya have three and Tunisia just one, but the Carthage Eagles will have the advantage of two home games to finish off the qualifiers.

In Zone West A, Mali and Mauritania as well as Senegal and Guinea will battle for two spots up for grabs, while West B features arguably the pick of the ties as Ghana and the Ivory Coast do battle. Their region also features Nigeria v Burkina Faso in a repeat of the 2013 AFCON final and Niger tackling Togo.

The Central Zone sees DR Congo battle Central African Republic, Cameroon go head-to-head with Congo Brazzaville and Chad take on 2017 AFCON hosts Gabon.

In the Central-East Zone, spots are at a premium with Rwanda already qualified as hosts. Uganda will tackle Sudan, while Burundi face a challenge in trying to overcome Ethiopia.

The Southern Zone features three intriguing ties, with pick of which is South Africa v Angola – Bafana Bafana and the Sable Antelopes will also meet in the second round of African qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup next month.

Zimbabwe v Lesotho and Zambia v Mozambique will wrap up the Southern Zone’s fixtures.

Aside from the Northern Zone, all first leg matches will be played this coming weekend (16-18 October), with the return matches set for 23-25 October.

Northern Zone

Final round of group stage matches – top two teams qualify for CHAN

19 October – Tunisia v Libya

22 October – Libya v Morocco

25 October – Tunisia v Morocco

Zone West A

First round – two aggregate winners qualify for CHAN

First leg – 16-18 October

Mali v Mauritania

Guinea v Senegal

Second leg – 23-25 October

Mauritania v Mali

Senegal v Guinea

Zone West B

First round – three aggregate winners qualify for CHAN

First leg – 16-18 October

Ghana v Ivory Coast

Nigeria v Burkina Faso

Niger v Togo

Second leg – 23-25 October

Ivory Coast v Ghana

Burkina Faso v Nigeria

Togo v Niger

Central Zone

First round – three aggregate winners qualify for CHAN

First leg – 16-18 October

DR Congo v Central African Republic

Cameroon v Congo

Chad v Gabon

Second leg – 23-25 October

Central African Republic v DR Congo

Congo v Cameroon

Gabon v Chad

Central-East Zone

First round – two aggregate winners qualify for CHAN

First leg – 16-18 October

Uganda v Sudan

Burundi v Ethiopia

Second leg – 23-25 October

Sudan v Uganda

Ethiopia v Burundi

Southern Zone

First round – three aggregate winners qualify for CHAN

First leg – 16-18 October

Zimbabwe v Lesotho

Zambia v Mozambique

South Africa v Angola


Second leg – 23-25 October

Lesotho v Zimbabwe

Mozambique v Zambia

Angola v South Africa