Somalia receive greenlight to host AFCON qualifier in Mozambique

Somalia national team has received the greenlight to host Mauritius in Mozambique during the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) preliminary qualifying round first-leg match on 27 March 2026.

The Ocean Stars are among the 12 lowly-ranked national teams which will participate in the preliminary round games to determine the ultimate group-stage participants for the continental competition.

Very soon Somalia 🇸🇴 will be a formidable name in African football ⚽️.

Despite all the political problems they have undergone football has taken root firmly with good performances from their once weak teams.

This is yesterday in Mogadishu .They are putting an effort both the… pic.twitter.com/NHCvItqlJI

— Collins Okinyo (@bedjosessien) January 2, 2024

In a statement, the Mozambican Football Federation (FMF) confirmed accepting a request from its Somalia counterparts to use Lalgy Arena, which the country’s league giants Black Bulls FC own.

“The realization of this match on the Mozambican territory results from a formal request from the Somali Football Federation to FMF, taking into account that that country currently does not have a homologated stadium for holding official matches approved by the African Football Confederation (CAF),” reads part of the statement.

“Following the assessment of the request, CAF has authorized the use of Lalgy Arena specifically for conducting the match in reference.”

What you need to know about Somalia versus Mauritius game

During the time Somalia will host Mauritius, the Mambas will not be in action as they are among the top-ranked teams exempted from the preliminary qualification.

The overall winner over two legs of the preliminary rounds will advance to the group stage, joining 42 top-ranked teams for the tournament which Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda will host.

Know more about preliminary round fixtures (March 2026):

Djibouti v South Sudan

Chad v Burundi

Somalia v Mauritius

Seychelles v Lesotho

Eritrea v Eswatini

Sao Tome and Principe v Ethiopia

Key Details of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers

Format: Home-and-away ties.

Dates: March 25–31, 2026.

Objective: The six winners advance to the group stage.

Hosts: Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania (qualified