The draw will be conducted at the awe-striking Mohammed VI Technical Centre in Rabat, Morocco. The Centre is one of the most iconic sporting facilities in African football.
The draw will be live on CAFONLINE.COM and CAFTV (YouTube).
Eight teams will participate in the tournament scheduled from June 24 to July 8, 2023 in Morocco.
The TotalEnergies U23 Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2023 used as a qualifier for the Summer Olympic Games Paris 2024 will feature host Morocco, Egypt, Niger, Guinea, Congo, Ghana, Mali and Gabon.
Teams Facts
Morocco
- Hosts for a second time were runners up to Gabon the last time they were the hosts in 2011.
- This will be their second appearance at the tournament along with 2011, when they were the tournaments inaugural hosts.
- Morocco won their opening two games at the 2011 edition defeating Nigeria and Algeria 1-0, despite a loss to Senegal in their final group game, they progressed to the last four defeating Egypt but lost in the final to Gabon.
Egypt
- Competing in their fourth finals, have qualified for every edition since 2011.
- Defending champions having won the 2019 edition on home soil. Won all five games in 2019 in open play defeating Cote d’ Ivoire 2-1 in the final.
- Have the distinction of being the only nation to have qualified for every edition of the tournament.
- Third place finishers when Morocco last hosts in 2011.
Gabon
- Winners of the 2011 edition of the tournament.
- Return for a second time after missing out in 2015 and 2019.
- First winners of this tournament defeated hosts Morocco 3-1 in the final in 2011.
Ghana
- Making their second appearance at the tournament after 2019.
- Finished fourth in their only previous tournament appearance in 2019.
- Lost both their knockout games in 2019 on penalties to Cote d’ Ivoire in the Semi-finals and South Africa in the play-off for third.
Mali
- Coming into their third finals.
- Eliminated in the group stages in both their previous tournament appearances in 2015 and 2019.
- Left Egypt 2019 winless will be looking to improve this time around and reach the knockout stage for the first time.
Congo
- Making their tournament debut.
- Overcame South Africa in the final round of qualifying, progressing on away goals after drawing the first leg away from home 1-1 and the second 0-0.
- Are the third different team from the UNIFFAC region to have ever made the finals along with Cameroon and Gabon.
Guinea
- Making their tournament debut.
- Shocked Nigeria in the qualifiers with a 0-0 away draw in Abuja in the first leg of the third round, followed it up with a 2-0 win in the second leg played in Rabat.
- Them and Niger become the 6th and 7th teams from the WAFU Zone to qualify for the tournament.
Niger
- Making their tournament debut.
- Defeated Guinea Bissau in the first round of qualifying and shocked Cote d’ Ivoire in the second round with a 1-1 away draw after a 0-0 home draw to set up a third-round meeting against Sudan who they defeated 2-1 on aggregate.