Date set for Africa Nations Championship

Amavubi Stars face-off Intamba ku Rugamba Central East Zone Preliminary RoundMarch 301st leg Rwanda v Burundi April 13 2nd leg Burundi v RwandaFirst Round May 4 Sudan v Win. 1-2 Tanzania v Uganda May 18 Win. 1-2 vs. Sudan. Uganda v TanzaniaSecond Round Nov. 30 1st legWin. 3-4 v Win. 5-6 Dec. 14 2nd leg Win. 5-6 v Win. 3-4 BY BONNIE MUGABE Rwanda will face traditional rivals Burundi in the first qualifying fixture of the first ever African Nations Championship on March 30 at Nyamirambo stadium. The continent’s football governing body, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) released the dates for the fixtures of each of the competing eight zones early this week. The winners of each zone are destined to qualify for the final tournament which will be hosted in Ivory Coast from February 22-March 8 next year. Rwanda and Burundi who were not given a bye to the first round are expected to lock horns in the preliminary round whose winner will face Sudan in the first round tie on May 4. This new championship was inaugurated on September 11 last year with an aim of providing home-grown talents more exposure on the international scene. Caf also introduced the tournament as part of its statutes, mission statements and goals and commitment to promoting and developing football in Africa. The qualifying phase will take place every even year and the final every odd year.Rwanda is in the Central East Zone and will play against Sudan if they overcome Burundi in the preliminary round. The matches will be played on a home and away basis. However, Caf excluded central East zone member states like Kenya, Ethiopia, Zanzibar, Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti were excluded among the thirty countries that were included in the preliminary round of the Nations Championships. Elsewhere, Libya plays Tunisia in the preliminary round of the North Zone with the winner meeting Egypt in the first round while Algeria plays Morocco. In the West A zone, Senegal take on Mali, while Mauritania face Guinea. In the West B zone, Nigeria will take on Burkina Faso and Niger will play Benin. In the Central zone, Central Africa clash with Gabon and Congo meet Chad, with the winners taking on Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo respectively in the first round. Mauritius and South Africa face off in the preliminary of the Southern zone, with the winner playing Botswana in the first round, and Namibia clashing with Angola. Ends

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Date set for Africa Nations Championship