The Leone Stars of Sierra Leone will now face Mauritius instead of São Tomé and Principe in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Sierraloaded has learnt.

The confirmation of Mauritius as one of the teams placed in Group A alongside Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone was published on Monday.

Confederation of African Football (CAF) disqualified São Tomé and Principe, from the qualifiers for fielding an ineligible player against Mauritius during their preliminary round fixture.

Two teams from the group will qualify for the 2023 AFCON edition to be hosted by Côte d’Ivoire.

The first time Côte d’Ivoire hosted the AFCON was in 1984 which was won by Cameroon.

The qualifiers will run between 30 May 2022 and March 2023.