Sierra Leone has been handed a challenging route in the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations after being drawn alongside DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Zimbabwe.
The draw places the Leone Stars on what many view as a tough journey travelling to the southern end of the continent especially following their failure to qualify for the 2025 AFCON tournament in Morocco.
The draw provides Sierra Leone’s first-ever meeting with the Warriors of Zimbabwe, who, unlike the Leone Stars, have three Nations Cup appearances on record. The Southern African nation has qualified for the African Football showpiece on six different occasions.
Another African heavyweight in the group is the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, DR Congo who have shown power over Sierra Leone in their previous meetings.
The Leopards defeated Sierra Leone 3-0 in an international friendly in September 2022. In September and November 2014, they completed the double over Sierra Leone in Afcon qualifiers, winning 0-2 and 3-1, respectively.
Equatorial Guinea on the other hand are no stranger to Sierra Leone with the latter having an edge over the former.
Sierra Leone camping is expected to start immediately as they seek a new coach after the Football Association parted ways with former Leone Stars captain, Mohamed Kallon.
According to CAF, the teams ranked first and second in the groups without a host country will win their ticket to the final phase. In groups containing a host country, it will automatically qualify.
If the host country finishes first in the group, the second one will also qualify. On the other hand, if the host finishes second, third or fourth, only the first of the group will accompany the host country to the final tournament.