U20 AFCON: President Ruto flags off Rising Stars ahead of Egypt tourney

Photo Credit - PPS.

Kenyan President William Ruto flagged off the national U20 team Rising Stars as they left the country for Cairo, Egypt, for the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations.

The East African nation will face Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia in Group B. Rising Stars will open their campaign against Morocco on May 1 before playing Tunisia on May 4. They will wrap up their campaign against Nigeria on May 7.

“We are setting up the right sports infrastructure to support our youth in harnessing and nurturing their talents,” said the Head of State during the flagging off, adding: “Our best wishes to the team that has been placed in Group B with Nigeria, Morocco and Tunisia.”

Nigeria have won this competition seven times. Group A features the hosts Egypt, who have won the competition three times, against South Africa, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Tanzania. Tanzania and Kenya are the sole representatives of the CECAFA region after reaching the final of the CECAFA U20 last year.

Group C has the defending champions, Senegal, against the Central African Republic, DR Congo, and Ghana. The tournament, scheduled to run from 27 April to 18 May, will feature 13 nations battling for continental supremacy and four qualification spots to the FIFA U-20 World Cup, Chile 2025.

The TotalEnergies CAF U-20 AFCON Egypt 2025 will follow a three-group format. Group A contains five teams, while Groups B and C feature four teams each. The top two teams from each pool, along with the two best third-placed teams, will progress to the quarter-finals, with the tournament concluding on 18 May 2025.

• Group A: Egypt, Zambia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania

• Group B: Nigeria, Tunisia, Kenya, Morocco

• Group C: Senegal, Central African Republic, DR Congo, Ghana