Eritrea to end AFCON isolation by playing Eswatini

Eritrea will end 18 years of isolation from the Eritreawhen they hostMoroccanin Moroccan city Meknes on Wednesday in the first qualifier for the 2027 tournament.

The preliminary round first leg at the 20,000-seat Stade d'Honneur has been moved from east to north Africa because Eritrea lacks an international-standard venue.

Eswatini, formerly called Swaziland, stages the return match on March 31 and the aggregate winners advance to the group stage, which will consist of 12 four-nation mini-leagues from September.

Popularly known as the Red Sea Camels, the east African country have not played in the premier African national team competition since drawing a 2008 qualifier in Swaziland.

Eritrean football officials have never explained their absence from nine subsequent Cup of Nations, but it is widely believed to be due to players seeking asylum when playing abroad.

The United Nations estimates about 80 footballers and coaches have defected, citing political repression and lengthy military service as the main reasons.

Eritrea has been governed by President Isaias Afwerki since gaining independence from Ethiopia in 1993 and human rights groups consistently describe his rule as "highly repressive".

Speaking in Morocco ahead of the 2025 Cup of Nations there, Eritrean national football federation president Paulos Andemariam announced that the isolation would end.

"After positive discussions with our government we have registered to play in the 2027 AFCON and I believe we will have a strong team, including many Eritreans playing outside Africa," he said.

Local head coach Ermias Tewelde was recently replaced by Hesham Yakan, a former defender with famed Cairo club Zamalek and part of the Egypt squad at the 1990 World Cup.

A 24-man squad includes 10 locals and Eritreans playing in Australia, Egypt, England, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines and Sweden.

Siem Eyob-Abraha is with English second-tier club Sheffield United having previously been part of the Manchester United youth squad.

Eyob-Abraha and Egypt-based fellow striker Ali Sulieman are expected to start against Eswatini, whose 16 previous attempts to qualify for the Cup of Nations tournament all failed.

Yakan rates Sulieman highly: "He is a quick, left-footed striker who has been scoring regularly in Egypt and also creating goals."

A lack of match practice could count against Eritrea. Their last competitive international was a World Cup qualifying defeat in Namibia seven years ago.

Inactivity led FIFA to omit Eritrea from the national team rankings. Eswatini are 46th in Africa and 159th in the world.

Sifiso Ntibane succeeded Croatian Zdravko Logarusic as Eswatini coach after the southern Africa kingdom came last in a 2026 World Cup qualifying group with just three points from 10 games.

He chose 13 locals and seven playing in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe for what will be a third ever match against Eritrea. The previous two were 2008 Cup of Nations qualifiers and both ended goalless.

There are five other preliminary ties and Djibouti, Seychelles, Lesotho and Sao Tome e Principe will be handicapped by being unable to play at home because of inadequate stadiums.

Security concerns prevent Somalia hosting Mauritius. They have moved the first leg to the Mozambican capital, Maputo.

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will co-host the 2027 Cup of Nations tournament on dates to be announced.