Tuesday, May 13, 2025

U-23 National team on bye in AFCON first round qualifiers…To face Sierra Leone in second round

The Zambia U-23 men’s national team will face Sierra Leone in the second round of the 2023 TotalEnergies Morocco U-23 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers.

The junior Chipolopolo are exempted from playing the first round and will only begin the 2023 U-23 AFCON journey with an away second-round fixture against the Leone Stars on the weekend of 21-23 October before hosting the Stars a week later.

Winner of the fixture will face the overall winners of the second-round tie. It could be either Egypt or the winners of the first-round match between Eswatini and Botswana who face-off in the first round.

The fixture was confirmed at the draws for the qualifiers held at CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt Thursday afternoon.

It’s not clear who will head the young Bullets technical bench whether it will be Beston Chambeshi or a new gaffer. 

2021/2022 MTN Super League player of the year Ricky Banda, Joshua Mutale, Jimmy Mukeya, Golden Mashata, Chipyoka Songa, Chanda Mukuka, Patrick Gondwe, Peter Chikola and Albert Kangwanda are among the players expected to make up the core of the team. 

The U-23 AFCON tournament will be played in Morocco in June 2023.

Zambia featured at the 2019 edition of the U23 AFCON in Egypt and fell out at the first round.

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4 Comments

  1. Zambia Men’s U23 should gear up and try make the Paris Olympics. They have a good crop of players in Europe and those at home…Miguel Chaila, Enock Sakala jnr, Lameck Banda, Ntazana in the Welsh league, also the Zimba boy in Wales. A good chance to bring in Jardon Katongo. A good progress by this U23 group could push Zambia football to new levels. I am sure sure the Zambian ladies will qualify to the Olympics as they have qualified to the World Cup next year. They seem to have a different mindset from the men as they are showing Africa and the the World that they belong right up there by qualifying to the big stage. The confidence is what the Men’s sides need.

  2. @Slingo
    Knowing the attitude towards junior players trading in European league, Faz might not consider boys in Wales . Mark my words .

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