ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - The 2023 FIBA Africa's busy calendar is set to get underway when the FIBA AfroCan Qualifiers tip off later this month in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

The FIBA AfroCan is a national team competition aimed for players based on the continent of Africa, and it starts to become one of FIBA Africa's highlights. 

But before the 12-nation AfroCan returns for the first time since 2019, a number of national teams from  all FIBA Africa sub-zones will play qualifications tournaments to determine the eight spots that are still up for grabs.

This is your ultimate guide for the 2023 FIBA AfroCan Qualifiers.

HISTORY OF FIBA AFROCAN

The FIBA AfroCan came to fill the void left by the implementation of FIBA's new competition, which was implemented in November 2017.

The new system halted FIBA AfroBasket's schedule from a biennial to a quadrennial competition.

The current FIBA Basketball World Cup, which is held over the course of 18 months,  emerged from the new competition system. 

The DR Congo won their first-ever continental competition by winning  the inaugural FIBA AfroCan in 2019 after beating Kenya in the final.

Maxi Munanga Shamba was named MVP of the first FIBA AfroCan

FINAL STANDINGS OF THE 2019 FIBA AFROCAN

1. DR Congo
2. Kenya
3. Angola
4. Morocco
5. Mali
6. Chad
7. Tunisia
8. Algeria
9. Egypt
10. Cote d’Ivoire
11. Nigeria
12. Guinea 

HOW MANY SPOTS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE FIBA AFROCAN QUALIFIERS?

By reaching the 2019 AfroCan, DR Congo, Kenya, Angola and Morocco qualified automatically for this year's editions of the tournament, leaving the remaining eight spots up for grabs.

WHEN ARE THE FIBA AFROCAN QUALIFIERS TAKING PLACE?

The FIBA AfroCan Qualifiers start in February and will finish in June before the Final Round in July.

CAN THE FIBA AFROCAN QUALIFIERS COLLIDE WITH THE WORLD CUP AFRICAN QUALIFIERS SCHEDULE?

No.

The last window of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers will take place in Alexandria and Luanda from February 24-28.

The only AfroCan Qualifiers in February doesn't include any team involved in the World Cup Qualifiers.

The AfroCan Qualifiers are expected to run in February for nations that won't compete in the World Cup African Qualifiers.  

WHERE ARE THE FIBA AFROCAN QUALIFIERS TAKING PLACE?

The first AfroCan Qualifiers will run from February 20-28 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe where five Zone 6 teams (Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia) will do battle for the sole ticket for 2023 AfroCan.

"Having teams like Malawi and South Africa involved in the FIBA AfroCan Qualifiers demonstrates our commitment to expand and engage with all countries in our region," observed FIBA Africa Zone 6 Chairman Paulo Madeira.

From March 19-25, Cameroon's capital city of Yaounde will be home to Zone 4's AfroCan Qualifiers.

Five nations - including hosts Cameroon, Central African Repiublic, Chad, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea will compete for a spot in the Final Round.

The AfroCan Qualifiers for Zone 5 teams will be held in June, according to the sub-zone President Hesham El Hariri.

The schedules and hosts countries for the 2023 AfroCan Qualifiers for sub-zones 1, 2, 3 and 7 will be announced at a later date.

HOW TO WATCH THE 2023 AFROCAN QUALIFIERS?

All AfroCan Qualifiers games will be streamed live on FIBA' Youtube Channel. 

The following teams qualified for the second edition of the FIBA AfroCan by virtue of reaching the Semi-Finals of the last edition that held in Bamako, Mali: DR Congo (Champions), Kenya (runners-up), Angola (third-place), and Morocco (fourth place).

WHEN AND WHERE WILL THE 2023 FIBA AFROCAN FINAL PHASE TAKE PLACE?

The host country for the 2023 FIBA AfroCan is yet to be determined. 

FIBA