AFCON 2027 Qualifying: Eritrea, Somalia and São Tomé & Príncipe set neutral venues for preliminary round

Some countries that will be taking part in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) preliminary round qualifiers will be using Morocco and Mozambique as their home match venues.

Eritrea, Somalia and São Tomé & Príncipe have already secured their home venues in North and Southern Africa as they do not have a Confederation of African Football (CAF) accredited stadium in their countries.

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Eritrea will be making a return to their first competitive football match since September 2019 as they host Eswatini in Meknes, Morocco on March 25th. The Horn of Africa nation last played an AFCON qualifier tie nearly two decades ago in 2007.

The Red Sea Camels, as they are nicknamed, tried to stage a friendly game against South Sudan last month, but the game failed to materialize. No reason was given as to why the friendly could not take place.

Somalia will be using the Estádio do Zimpeto in Mozambique as their home venue as they take on Mauritius. Somalia last played an AFCON qualifier on home soil in 1986, and they are still using other venues to stage their matches. The Ocean Stars are deprived of their home advantage due to the civil war and political instability that has engulfed the country since 1991.

São Tomé & Príncipe will host Ethiopia in Morocco. The island nation does not have a CAF accredited stadium, so they will be forced to use Morocco as their home venue. They also hosted many of their 2026 FIFA World Cup African Qualifiers home games in Morocco.

The 2027 AFCON preliminary round first-leg games will kick off on March 25th.