Eritrea and Rwanda will not take part in the 2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) CECAFA Zone qualifiers that kick off later this week, the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA), has confirmed.The regional body confirmed the withdrawal of the two teams, citing that they had received communication detailing the same from the two Member Associations.”CECAFA has received communication from the two Member Associations that they will not be able to send teams for the qualifiers to take place in Addis Ababa,” CECAFA wrote.Uganda, Sudan, and Djibouti national teams have safely arrived in Addis Ababa ahead of the upcoming U-17 Africa Cup of Nations CECAFA Zonal qualifiers competition in Ethiopia. The competition will take place from 30 Sep – 19 Oct at Abebe Bikila Stadium, Addis Ababa. pic.twitter.com/0NzXjq9Psa— Ethiopia FF 🇪🇹 (@EthiopiaFF) September 25, 2022 Eritrea were in Group A alongside Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia, South Sudan while Rwanda was pooled together with the defending champions Uganda in Group B alongside Djibouti, Sudan, and BurundiAccording to the CECAFA Competitions manager, Yusuf Mossi, each group will now contain four teams with the fixtures set to be adjusted to reflect the changes.In the initial fixture released after the draw in Nairobi earlier in September, Eritrea were set to kick off the tournament this Friday with a lunch-time encounter against Somalia while Rwanda was to take on Sudan in the first match in Group B on Saturday.Uganda, Rwanda to face off at the 2023 U-17 AFCON CECAFA zone qualifiers##NAJAVA_MECA_6674507##The best two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals while the finalists will represent the Zone at the main event in Algeria at a date yet to be determined.Group A: Ethiopia, Tanzania, Eritrea, Somalia, South SudanGroup B: Uganda, Djibouti, Rwanda, Sudan, Burundi
