Egypt hosts the third edition of the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (U-23 AFCON) 2019. The tournament will be played between 8–22 November 2019.

The tournament takes place every four years and serves as qualifiers to the Olympic Games. The tournament will determine which three African teams will compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in Japan.

The tournament was initially scheduled to take place in Zambia, but they withdrew from hosting in July 2017. Egypt was announced as the new host nation of the tournament by CAF on 23 September 2017.

The draw of the final tournament was held on 2 October 2019 at the Haramlek Palace of Montaza Complex in Alexandria. The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. The hosts Egypt were seeded in Group A with Mali, Cameroon and Ghana. The defending champions Nigeria were seeded in Group B with South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire and Zambia.

During a meeting of the CAF Executive Committee on 6 August 2015, the name of the competition was changed from CAF U-23 Championship to U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.

History of the Pharaohs in the tournament

In 2011, the First Edition of the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations was held in Morocco. Egypt’s National Team finished third and qualified to the Olympic Games hosted in London having beaten Senegal 2/1.

The Second Edition of the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations was held in Senegal. But the journey of the pharaohs in Dakar was not a success. They were eliminated off the group stage, failing to secure any win.