Brave Warriors to face DR Congo

NAMIBIA’S Brave Warriors will kick off their 2008 African Nations Cup qualifying campaign with a date against DR Congo in an away match of Group 10 on the weekend of September 3 to 5 this year, according to a draw made known late last week.

The other two countries in Group 10 are Libya and Ethiopia. Namibia will again meet DR Congo in a home tie on the weekend of June 15 to 17 next year.They will face Ethiopia on the weekend of October 6 to 8 this year at Windhoek’s Independence Stadium, before they clash in an away match on the weekend of September 7 to 9 next year against the same country.The Warriors will play away to Libya on the weekend of March 23 to 25 next year, before hosting them on the weekend of June 1 to 3 next year.The draw for the 2008 tournament, whose finals will be played in Ghana, was released by the Confederation of African Football last week Thursday.A total of 47 countries will compete in 12 groups to qualify for 15 out of the 16 places at the 2008 finals.Namibia is currently in a rebuilding phase and are still to appoint a coach that will lead the side in the annual Cosafa Castle Cup tournament which starts in June.Namibia is currently ranked 161st in the world and has not played an international match since April last year.Automatic qualification is guaranteed to the team that tops each group, while the top three runners-up in the groups consisting of four teams will join them.This means that only one team has the chance of qualifying from Group 12, which has just three teams – Morocco, Zimbabwe and Malawi.Ghana automatically qualify for the 2008 tournament as hosts.Nations Cup qualifying groups: Group 1 Gabon, Madagascar, Djibouti, Ivory Coast.Group 2 Mauritania, Botswana, Egypt, Burundi.Group 3 Uganda, Lesotho, Nigeria, Niger.Group 4 Sudan, Seychelles, Mauritius, Tunisia.Group 5 Rwanda, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia.Group 6 Swaziland, Angola, Kenya, Eritrea.Group 7 Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mozambique.Group 8 Guinea, Algeria, Gambia, Cape Verde.Group 9 Sierra Leone, Mali, Togo, Benin.Group 10 Ethiopia, Libya, DR Congo, Namibia.Group 11 South Africa, Congo, Chad, Zambia.Group 12 Morocco, Malawi, Zimbabwe.-Additional Reporting BBC * A complete fixture list will be published on Tuesday.Namibia will again meet DR Congo in a home tie on the weekend of June 15 to 17 next year.They will face Ethiopia on the weekend of October 6 to 8 this year at Windhoek’s Independence Stadium, before they clash in an away match on the weekend of September 7 to 9 next year against the same country.The Warriors will play away to Libya on the weekend of March 23 to 25 next year, before hosting them on the weekend of June 1 to 3 next year.The draw for the 2008 tournament, whose finals will be played in Ghana, was released by the Confederation of African Football last week Thursday.A total of 47 countries will compete in 12 groups to qualify for 15 out of the 16 places at the 2008 finals.Namibia is currently in a rebuilding phase and are still to appoint a coach that will lead the side in the annual Cosafa Castle Cup tournament which starts in June.Namibia is currently ranked 161st in the world and has not played an international match since April last year.Automatic qualification is guaranteed to the team that tops each group, while the top three runners-up in the groups consisting of four teams will join them.This means that only one team has the chance of qualifying from Group 12, which has just three teams – Morocco, Zimbabwe and Malawi.Ghana automatically qualify for the 2008 tournament as hosts. Nations Cup qualifying groups: Group 1 Gabon, Madagascar, Djibouti, Ivory Coast.Group 2 Mauritania, Botswana, Egypt, Burundi.Group 3 Uganda, Lesotho, Nigeria, Niger.Group 4 Sudan, Seychelles, Mauritius, Tunisia.Group 5 Rwanda, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia.Group 6 Swaziland, Angola, Kenya, Eritrea.Group 7 Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mozambique.Group 8 Guinea, Algeria, Gambia, Cape Verde.Group 9 Sierra Leone, Mali, Togo, Benin.Group 10 Ethiopia, Libya, DR Congo, Namibia.Group 11 South Africa, Congo, Chad, Zambia.Group 12 Morocco, Malawi, Zimbabwe.-Additional Reporting BBC * A complete fixture list will be published on Tuesday.