Teams fight for seven CHAN places

Seven teams will have booked their place at next year's African Nations Championship in South Africa after this weekend's round of qualifiers.

Nigeria appear set to fill one of the berths as they take a 4-1 lead into the second leg of their tie against Cote d'Ivoire.

And if the reigning African champions are successful, they will reach the finals for the first time.

Ousted by Ghana and minnows Niger in previous qualifying competitions, the Super Eagles are desperate to end five years of failure.

While coach Stephen Keshi preaches caution, it would be the biggest shock in qualifying for the tournament, which is for home-based players, if they surrender their advantage.

"We cannot afford to take our feet off the pedal because we won the first match," said Keshi, who led the full senior team to the Africa Cup of Nations title in Soweto in February.

"The Ivorians are a very good side and we must prepare thoroughly for the second leg or face the prospect of losing out on Nations Championship qualification again."

Ethiopia are another country hoping to make the finals for the first time, although they are less favourably placed than Nigeria having defeated Rwanda only 1-0 in Addis Ababa.

Sewnet Bishaw, who took the Cup of Nations team to the finals last January after a 31-year absence, is confident of completing the task in Kigali.

"I promise that we will beat Rwanda in their backyard - I do not foresee any serious problems having watched them in the first encounter," he boasted.

Only three of the 23-strong Cup of Nations squad are based abroad, leaving Bishaw with a wealth of experience to call on, including midfield dribbler Shimelis Bekele.

A 1-0 victory in Tanzania through a goal from defender Denis Iguma has placed Uganda in pole position to reach a second consecutive Nations Championship tournament.

But the Cranes have often fallen at the final hurdle in various qualifying tournaments and Serb coach Milutin 'Micho' Sredojevic remains wary of his east African nUganda will lack both first-leg strikers with Tony Odour sidelined by a pulled muscle and Patrick Edema in Portugal for trials with a third-tier club.

Mali are well placed having beaten Guinea 3-1 at home, as are Sudan after forcing a 1-1 draw in Burundi.

But Burkina Faso and 2009 champions Democratic Republic of Congo face tough tasks against Niger and Congo-Brazzaville respectively having built just one-goal home leads.

There are also four first-leg fixtures with Cameroon belatedly hosting Gabon after the lifting this week of a Fifa ban on the country for state interference.

Southern region fixtures between Botswana and Zambia, Mozambique and Namibia and Mauritius and Zimbabwe complete the 11-match schedule. —BBC