The Zimbabwe Warriors will kick off their campaign for the 2025 African Nations Championship with a first-round clash against Eswatini. The draw, conducted at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, has set the stage for an exciting qualifying journey for the Warriors.
The CHAN competition, exclusively for footballers playing in their domestic leagues, provides a platform for Zimbabwean players to showcase their talent and compete at the highest level. Should the Warriors successfully navigate the first round against Eswatini, they will face Madagascar in the second round.
Madagascar received a bye in the first round, and the winner of the Madagascar-Zimbabwe contest will qualify for the CHAN finals, which will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania from February 1 to 28 next year.
The first round of the qualifiers will be played on the weekend of October 25 to 27 and November 1 to 3, with the second round confirmed for December 20 to 22 and December 27 to 29. Zimbabwe’s return to the competition follows a previous absence due to an international ban.
The Warriors have a history of success in the CHAN tournament, with their best performance being a fourth-place finish at the 2014 finals in South Africa. The upcoming qualifiers will provide an opportunity for new Warriors coach Michael Nees to assess the locally-based players and select the best talent for the national team.
Nees, who has been impressed by the quality of players he has seen in local football, has already included seven locally-based players in the Warriors squad for their upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Namibia. The first game is set for Orlando Stadium in South Africa today, while the return leg will be played at the same venue on Monday next week.
The performance of players in the CHAN qualifiers could play a crucial role in their selection for the Warriors squad for the return Afcon qualifiers against Kenya and Cameroon next month.