A former Carlisle United player is hoping to star at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Midfielder Mo Sagaf is involved in the tournament which gets under way in the coming days.

He is in the Tanzania squad for the tournament which is staged in the Ivory Coast.

And the ex-United man, who now plays for Boreham Wood, faces a tough opener against World Cup semi-finalists Morocco next Wednesday.

Sagaf, 26, was born in Somalia but grew up in Tanzania before moving to England.

News and Star: Sagaf was with United in the 2019/20 seasonSagaf was with United in the 2019/20 season (Image: Barbara Abbott)

His time in the English game included a season with the Cumbrians in 2019/20.

He joined the Cumbrians under Steven Pressley and went on to make 20 appearances for the Brunton Park club, scoring once - on his debut against Swindon Town.

The player, having previously been with Ipswich Town and Braintree, left Carlisle after one season and went on to play for Dagenham & Redbridge before joining fellow National League outfit Boreham Wood last summer.

He has made six appearances this campaign, and made his international debut for Tanzania in a friendly against Egypt on Sunday.

That saw Sagaf come on as a half-time substitute in a 2-0 defeat to an Egypt side that included Liverpool star Mo Salah.

He is one of four English-based players in the Tanzania squad, along with Aldershot Town defender Haji Mnoga, Wealdstone midfielder Tarryn Allarakhia and Ilkeston Town midfielder Ben Starkie.

As well as Morocco, Sagaf and Tanzania face the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia in group F of the tournament.

The tournament gets under way on Saturday when Ivory Coast, the host nation, take on Guinea-Bissau.

There are three players from League One competing in the tournament, meanwhile - Derby County's Ryan Nyambe (Namibia), Reading's Ben Elliott (Cameroon) and Bolton Wanderers' Carlos Mendes Gomes (Guinea-Bissau)