Wednesday’s match between Eritrea and Eswatini will be the East African nation’s first AFCON qualifier since 2008.
Published March 24, 2026
Eritrea will host Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, in the Moroccan city of Meknes on Wednesday in the first round of qualifying for the 2027 tournament, ending 18 years of isolation from the African Cup of Nations.
Due to the lack of an international standard venue in Eritrea, the first qualifying round at the 20,000-seat Stade d’Honneur was moved from East Africa to North Africa.
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Eswatini will play their return match on March 31st, with the combined winners advancing to the group stage, which will start in September and will consist of 12 mini-leagues from four countries.
The East African nation, widely known as the Red Sea Camels, have not played Africa’s premier national team since a draw in the 2008 Swaziland qualifiers.
Eritrean football officials have not explained their absence from nine subsequent Nations Cups, but it is widely believed to be due to players seeking asylum while playing abroad.
The United Nations estimates that around 80 soccer players and coaches have defected, mainly due to political repression and long military service.
Eritrea has been ruled by President Isaias Afwerki since gaining independence from Ethiopia in 1993, and human rights groups have consistently described his rule as “highly repressive.”
Eritrean Football Federation President Paulos Andemariam spoke in Morocco ahead of the 2025 Nations Cup and announced the end of quarantine.
“After positive discussions with the government, we have registered to participate in the 2027 AFCON. We believe we will have a strong team, including many Eritreans playing outside Africa,” he said.
Local head coach Ermias Tewelde was recently replaced by Hesham Yakan, a former defender of Cairo’s prestigious club Zamalek and a member of Egypt’s 1990 World Cup squad.
less game practice
The 24-man team includes 10 locals and Eritreans playing in Australia, Egypt, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines and Sweden.
Siem Eyob-Abraha previously played for Manchester United’s youth teams and now plays for English second division club Sheffield United.
Eyob Abraha and fellow Egypt-based striker Ali Slieman are expected to start against Eswatini, where their previous 16 attempts to qualify for the Nations Cup have all failed.
Coach Yakan has high praise for Sleeman, saying, “He is a fast left-footed striker who regularly scores and creates goals for Egypt.”
The lack of match practice could affect the match against Eritrea. Their last international match was a World Cup qualifying defeat in Namibia seven years ago.
Due to inactivity, FIFA removed Eritrea from its national team rankings. Eswatini ranks 46th in Africa and 159th in the world.
Sifiso Ntivane replaced Croatian Zdravko Logarsic as Eswatini coach after South Africa finished bottom of the 2026 World Cup qualifying group with just three points after 10 games.
For their third ever match against Eritrea, they have selected 13 local players and seven players from South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The previous two times were in the 2008 Nations Cup qualifiers, both of which ended goalless.
There are five other preliminary matches, with Djibouti, Seychelles, Lesotho and Sao Tome and Principe unable to play at home due to a lack of stadiums, which will limit their spots.
Security concerns prevent Somalia from hosting Mauritius. They moved the first leg to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will jointly host the 2027 Nations Cup tournament, with dates to be announced.
