AFCON 2023: Mauritius Win Appeal Against Sao Tomé & Príncipe, Now To Play Nigeria

Mauritius have confirmed their place in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying round and will battle Nigeria’s Super Eagles, among others, for a spot at the next edition of the championship to be hosted by Ivory Coast next year, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

São Tomé and Príncipe would feel hard done after they defeated Mauritius 4-3 on aggregate in the preliminary qualifier in March.

But Mauritius protested the victory and filed a report with CAF that their opponents fielded a player who had tested positive for COVID-19. São Tomé & Príncipe disputed this assertion.

CAF has, however, ruled that São Tomé and Príncipe forward Luis Leal, who scored the only goal in the first leg of their play-off, broke the body’s COVID-19 protocols.

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.