Egypt will host the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations competition, the three top teams of which will automatically qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo the following year, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced late on Saturday. Egypt's Young Pharaohs team has yet to win the quadrennial tournament, with its best achievement coming in 2011, having finished third to make it to the London Olympics. "After finishing the CAF executive committee meeting, Egypt won the hosting of the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations, which qualifies for the Olympic Games," the EFA said. The decision was made by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) during a meeting on Saturday, according to the EFA. The idea of Egypt hosting the tournament originated on the sidelines of a symposium in Morocco last July, when Egypt's Sports Minister Khaled Abdel-Aziz and Egyptian FA chief Hani Abou-Rida submitted a request. The tournament was founded in 2011. In August of 2015, The CAF Executive Committee decided to change the name of the tournament from the CAF U-23 Championship to the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations, similar to the senior's version, the Africa Cup of Nations.
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