Liberia unveil new coach ahead of 2027 AFCON qualifiers

Belgian-Moroccan tactician Mohammed Adil Erradi is the new head coach of Liberia, signing a three-year deal.

Part of his mandate is to lead the Lone Star back to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to be co-hosted in East Africa by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

🇱🇷 Liberia have announced Mohammed Adil Erradi as their new head coach, signing a contract through 2029.

Erradi has spent the majority of his coaching career in his native Morocco, and this will be his first national team job.

Liberia start AFCON 2027 qualifying in September. pic.twitter.com/xPCxoVvw5v

— Passport Soccer (@passport_soccer) May 18, 2026

A statement from Liberia Football Association (LFA) confirmed the appointment by saying: “A new era begins! Let’s give a massive welcome to our new Head Coach, Mohammed Adil Erradi!

Adil Erradi to lead Lesotho in qualifiers

“Erradi, a UEFA Pro License coach, takes charge of the Lone Star through 2029, kicking off his journey with the upcoming 2027 AFCON Qualifiers.”

Born on December 6, 1978 and holder of a UEFA Pro License, Adil Mohamed Erradi has built an extensive professional career. After a stint in Ghana, he joined Raja Casablanca in June 2017 as assistant coach to Juan Carlos Garrido, before becoming technical director of IR Tanger from November 2017.

From July 2019, he took charge of Rwandan club APR FC, with which he set the national record for the highest number of consecutive unbeaten matches (50 matches) and won the league title for three consecutive seasons: 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022.

In July 2022, he led APR FC to qualification for the second round of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League, a first in the history of a Rwandan club.

AFCON qualifier draw for Tuesday

The draw for the AFCON 2027 qualifiers will be conducted on Tuesday, May 19th at 15:00 local time (13:00 CET).

According to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the qualifiers draw will be held at the Egyptian Football Association Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.

The opening match of the AFCON 2027 will be played on Saturday, June 19th 2027, and the final on Saturday, July 17th. A total of 48 teams, including the three co-hosts, will participate in the qualifiers.

The draw will determine the pathway to the finals, with 24 teams set to secure qualification for Africa’s flagship football event. The qualifiers will be played across three windows in the FIFA international match calendar ahead of the finals.

The 48 teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four teams each. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the finals, while groups containing one of the co-hosts will see one additional team progress.