Tanzania’s ‘Taifa Stars’ will square it out with neighbours ‘Chipolopolo’ of Zambia and DR Congo’s ‘The Leopards’ in the Group Stage tussles of 2023 Afcon finals in Ivory Coast in January 2024.
The three neighbouring national sides were placed in Group F together with heavyweights Morocco’s ‘The Atlas Lions’ in a draw held in the Ivorian capital Abidjan on Thursday night.
Their matches will be played at the Laurent Pokou Stadium in San Pedro with the Group’s opening match likely to be between Zambia versus Tanzania.
Read: Tanzania qualifies for Afcon finals
It is seen as a fair Group with each side having the chance of progressing to the knockout stage.
‘The Leopards’ and the ‘Chipolopolos’ are past winners of the tournament, but Tanzania has not gone far from the Group Stage in its two appearances so far in the continental showpiece one in 1980 in Nigeria and the other in Egypt in 2019.
‘The Leopards’ won it twice first in 1968 and then in 1974 at home cheered by the then world’s king of boxing, Muhammad Ali who was in the country for the global famous heavyweight boxing meet “Rumble in the Jungle” pitting him with George Foreman.
The ‘Chipolopolos’ triumphed in Gabon in 2012 by beating Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in the final match with the Ivorian skipper, Didier Drogba having skyrocketed his penalty kick.
The Groups are:
Group A:
Ivory Coast
Nigeria
Equitorial Guinea
Guinea Bissau
Group B:
Egypt
Ghana
Cape Verde
Mozambique
Group C:
Senegal
Cameroon
Guinea
The Gambia
Group D:
Algeria
Burkina Faso
Mauritania
Angola
Group E:
Tunisia
Mali
South Africa
Namibia
Group F:
Morocco
DR Congo
Zambia
Tanzania
Source: The East African
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