Reigning African champions Ivory Coast have been drawn against Ghana in the 2016 African Nations Championship (Chan) first round of qualification with the first leg scheduled to be played on the weekend of June 19-21.

Caf conducted the draws at their headquarters in Cairo, Egypt yesterday drawing CHAN defending champions Libya against neighbours Morocco and Tunisia in what is expected to be a tightly contested Maghreb round-robin competition that will see the top two qualify to the next round.

The draw was done based on the zonal representation of the national associations affiliated to CAF and has attracted 42 countries that will produce 15 teams that will join hosts Rwanda for the final tournament scheduled for January 16-February 7.

In the East African region, Burundi was drawn against Djibouti while Uganda will be up against Tanzania. Kenya will face off with Ethiopia while Sudan received a bye to the next round.

In the southern region, Zimbabwe will be up against Comoros Islands, while Lesotho was drawn against Botswana. Namibia will have to battle it out with Zambia for a place in the next round. Mozambique will face Seychelles while South Africa will take on Mauritius and Swaziland will face Angola.

Cameroon against Congo will make for a tightly contested encounter in the central zone while Democratic Republic of Congo will face Central African Republic. Chad will face Gabon.

In Zone West A, Guinea-Bissau will be up against Mali, Mauritania will face Sierra Leone while Equatorial Guinea was drawn against Liberia and The Gambia will be looking to overcome Senegal to stand a chance of making a debut appearance at the continental tournament.

Nigeria will have to overcome Burkina Faso while Togo will be up against Niger in the Zone West B category.

Meanwhile, Amavubi have lined up several friendly matches throughout the year, including against South Africa, on July 25 in Johannesburg as new Amavubi coach Johnny McKinstry tries to build a team that can take on the best on the continent next year.

The Chan tournament is designed exclusively for players who feature in their domestic leagues. The first edition was held in 2009 in Ivory Coast with Democratic Republic of Congo emerging winners. Tunisia were crowned champions at the 2011 edition in Sudan while Libya won last year’s edition in South Africa.

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