African World Cup playoffs to be held in Rabat

(Reuters) – Morocco’s capital Rabat will host next month’s African World Cup playoffs, using three different stadiums for the three matches, the Confederation of African Football said on Wednesday.

Nigeria take on Gabon on November 13 at 1600GMT, followed by Cameroon against the Democratic Republic of Congo at 1900 GMT.

A draw, to be held on Thursday, will decide which game is played at the Stade El Barid and which will go ahead at Prince Heritier Moulay El Hassan Sports Complex.

The semi-final winners then meet in a deciding game on November 16 at the Stade Prince Heritier Moulay Abdellah with the winners advancing to the inter-continental playoffs in March.

Nine African teams have already qualified for the World Cup, each finishing top of their groups, and the March playoff will decide the continent’s 10th representatives at next year’s finals in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.

The four teams in the November playoffs were the best runners-up across the nine African qualifying groups.

Four different stadiums in Rabat will be used at the Africa Cup of Nations finals, which start on December 21. The newly built Stade Prince Heritier Moulay Abdellah will host the Cup of Nations final on January 18.