There will definitely be no shortage of football action in the coming weeks as the qualifiers for the 2024 Summer Olympics kick off.
Morocco, who are hosting the qualifiers in Africa, will play against Guinea in Group A at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat at 9pm local time on Saturday.
Egypt, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, and Niger are the other teams that will be seeking four spots allocated to Africa in the summer games.
Tight race
Morocco's Under-23 Head Coach Issame Charai said his team will not underrate Guinea, who defeated Nigeria’s Olympic Eagles 2-0 to book their place in the qualifiers.
"Guinea represents a real opposition. That will not be an easy game, and it will be up to us to stay disciplined and focused,’’ Charai said.
‘’The [Football] Federation [of Morocco] has put us in excellent conditions in view of this tournament, and we must represent the country well. We must not make mistakes," he added.
On their part, Guinea admit it will be a tough task when they face hosts, Morocco, in the opening Group A match.
Guinea's Head Coach Morlaye Cisse said eliminating Nigeria was a great morale booster, and his team was in the tournament to ‘’offset the big labels."
More group stage matches are lined up for the weekend, with Egypt, who are the defending champions of the qualifier tournament, scheduled to meet Niger on Sunday.
Ghana will face off against Congo on Sunday at the Grand Stade de Tanger in Tangier, Morocco.
This is the second time Morocco are hosting the tournament after they did so in 2011.
The Summer Olympic qualifiers in Africa will be held between June 24 and July 8.
Three representatives from the continent will join the rest of the world in Paris, France from July 26 to August 11, 2024 for the summer games.
The qualifiers' finalists and third-place playoff winner will be in the 2024 Summer Olympic men's football tournament in Paris, while the fourth-placed team will play in an AFC-CAF elimination to decide the fourth Olympic slot.
