AFCON 2023: Mauritius wins appeal against Sao Tomé, to play Nigeria

Mauritius will play Nigeria and other teams in Group A of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification series starting next month.

This is after winning a case it filed against Sao Tomé and Príncipe concerning their 2023 AFCON preliminary qualifying fixture.

The Nigeria Football Federation made this known in a statement by its spokesperson, Ademola Olajire, on Monday.

The statement read, “The Director of Competitions of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Mr Samson Adamu has confirmed to thenff.com that Mauritius won a case it filed against Sao Tomé and Príncipe concerning their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary qualifying fixture, and will therefore join the combatants in Group A of the qualification series starting next month.

“Victory for Mauritius at the CAF Disciplinary Committee means they now join Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau in Group A of the six-match phase that ends in March next year.

“Nigeria will play Sierra Leone in Abuja on Thursday 9th June and then play Mauritius on Monday 13th June.

“Mauritius had filed a protest against São Tomé and Príncipe, who won their preliminary qualifying fixture, insisting that one São Tomé player had tested positive for COVID-19.”