Caf U23 qualifiers

First round

Rwanda vs Somalia Libya vs MauritaniaGhana vs LiberiaBotswana vs KenyaZimbabwe vs SwazilandGuinea-Bissau vs Sierra Leone

Second round

Libya/Mauritania vs MaliGhana/Liberia vs Congo Botswana/Kenya vs ZambiaZimbabwe/Swaziland vs South AfricaRwanda/Somalia vs UgandaTunisia vs Sudan

Third round

Libya/Mauritania/Mali vs Gabon (holders)Ghana/Liberia/Congo vs NigeriaBotswana/Kenya/Zambia vs Ivory CoastZimbabwe/Swaziland/South Africa vs SenegalGuinea-Bissau/Sierra Leone/Cameroon vs AlgeriaRwanda/Somalia/Uganda vs EgyptTunisia/Sudan vs Morocco

Rwanda U-23 side’s path to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 has been made clearer after the draws were made in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the weekend.

The African representatives in Rio will be determined at the Caf U-23 Championship, which will be hosted by the Democratic Republic of Congo from December 5-19, 2015 where the top three teams at the eight-team tournament will qualify.

The preliminaries will start with 27 teams that must go through three knockout rounds to determine the seven, who will join the hosts Congo for the finals tournament.

Rwanda has been drawn against Somalia in the first round that is scheduled to begin in March 2015, and should they progress, they face a tougher Ugandan side, which has been given a bye into the second round set for June/July.

The winner between Rwanda and Uganda will march on to face Egypt in the third and final qualification round between September and October.

Rwanda will be eager to make amendments in this year’s qualifying edition following a poor start in the previous edition. In 2011, Rwanda failed the first round hurdle, losing to Egypt 3-0 on aggregate.

The top three finishers at the finals tournament will qualify to the 2016 Olympics Games.