Monrovia – Liberia will play Morocco in the 2019 West African Football Union (Wafu) Nations Cup in Senegal on 29 September.
By Christopher C. Walker 0777898224/0886723075 [email protected]
The draw took place at the Radisson Blu Sea Plaza Hotel in Dakar on 29 May.
The draw which took place at the Radisson Blu Plaza hotel in Dakar on May 29, is the second expended edition that will run from 28 September to 13 October at the Stade Lat Dior stadium in Thies.
Morocco, who are awaiting a formal admittance to the regional bloc ECOWAS, were invited to replace Sierra Leone after their banned by the world governing body of football, FIFA in October 2018 for governmental interference in the running the football association.
It will be a historic meeting in politics and football as Morocco are the first guest outside the region to participate in the West African football showpiece.
In June 2017, ECOWAS approved Morocco’s membership application in Liberia despite the country being in the north but the regional leaders said the implications of its membership still need to be considered before Morocco could formally join.
The last time both countries met, Liberia defeated the Morocco 2-1 in an international friendly on 29 July 1987.
However, in the African Cup of Nation qualifiers in 1982, the North Africa triumphant in both legs of the qualifying.
New Format
This year’s finals will be separated into cup and plate formats, with each team playing a minimum of two matches.
The first phase winners will progress into the cup while the losers will go into the plate.
Hosts Senegal will take on Guinea Bissau in the opening match, while defending champions Ghana will meet Gambia on 28 September to be followed by the remaining matches.
The quarter-finals of the cup and plate
The quarter-finals of the cup and plate ties will be played between the 3-6 of October, while the semi-final will be played between the 8-9 of October.
The plate-final will be held on 12 October and the cup-final on 13 October.
First found fixtures
28 September
Senegal VS Guinea-Bissau
Ghana VS Gambia
29 September
Nigeria VS Togo
Morocco VS Liberia
30 September
Mali VS Niger
Ivory Coast VS Cape Verde
1 October
Burkina Faso VS Mauritania
Guinea VS Benin