2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Last updated
2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
Tournament details
Dates23 March 2026 – 16 November 2026
Teams52 (from 1 confederation)
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Qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will begin on 23 March 2026. A total of 24 teams will qualify to play in the final tournament, including automatically qualified hosts Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Entrants

All CAF member associations are eligible to enter the competition. The seeding was based on the FIFA World Ranking from 19 November 2025.

The qualifiers group stage draw will be held on 19 December 2025, 19:00 local time (GMT+1) in Rabat, Morocco.

A total of 13 groups, each comprising either three or four teams depending on the number of participating associations, will contest the group stage. The 13 group winners and the three best runners-up will qualify directly for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, joining the three host nations Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The remaining runners-up will advance to a two-legged play-off round to determine the final qualified teams. For scheduling reasons DR Congo will be drawn into a group of 3 teams due to their participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs).

From the November 2025 FIFA World Rankings [1]
Teams entering the group stage
  1. Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco (11)
  2. Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal (19)
  3. Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt (34)
  4. Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria (35)
  5. Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria (38)
  6. Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia (40)
  7. Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast (42)
  8. Flag of Mali.svg  Mali (54)
  9. Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg  DR Congo (56)
  10. Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon (57)
  11. Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa (61)
  12. Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso (62)
  13. Flag of Cape Verde.svg  Cape Verde (68)
  14. Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana (72)
  15. Flag of Gabon.svg  Gabon (78)
  16. Flag of Guinea.svg  Guinea (81)
  17. Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda (85)
  18. Flag of Angola.svg  Angola (89)
  19. Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia (90)
  20. Flag of Benin.svg  Benin (92)
  21. Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea (97)
  22. Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique (102)
  23. Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar (105)
  24. Flag of the Comoros.svg  Comoros (108)
  25. Flag of Niger.svg  Niger (109)
  26. Flag of Libya.svg  Libya (111)
  27. Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania (112)
  28. Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya (113)
  29. Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania (114)
  30. Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia (117)
  31. Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan (118)
  32. Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia (119)
  33. Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone (121)
  34. Flag of Togo (3-2).svg  Togo (124)
  35. Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi (126)
  36. Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe (129)
  37. Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda (131)
  38. Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg  Guinea-Bissau (133)
  39. Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg  Congo (134)
  40. Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana (138)
  41. Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic (139)
  42. Flag of Liberia.svg  Liberia (141)
  43. Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho (144)
  44. Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi (145)
  45. Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia (147)
  46. Flag of Eswatini.svg  Eswatini (159)
  47. Flag of South Sudan.svg  South Sudan (168)
  48. Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius (176)
  49. Flag of Chad.svg  Chad (177)
  50. Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg  São Tomé and Príncipe (190)
  51. Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti (196)
  52. Flag of Somalia.svg  Somalia (200)
  53. Flag of Seychelles.svg  Seychelles (203)
  54. Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea (unranked)

Schedule

The schedule of the qualifying tournament is as follows.

RoundMatchdayDatesMatches
Group stage Matchday 123–31 March 2026Team 1 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 4
Matchday 2Team 2 vs. Team 3, Team 4 vs. Team 1
Matchday 321 September – 6 October 2026Team 1 vs. Team 3, Team 2 vs. Team 4
Matchday 4Team 3 vs. Team 1, Team 4 vs. Team 2
Matchday 5Team 2 vs. Team 1, Team 4 vs. Team 3
Matchday 6Team 3 vs. Team 2, Team 1 vs. Team 4
Play-off RoundFirst leg9–17 November 2026Team 1 vs. Team 2
Second legTeam 2 vs. Team 1
  1. ↑ "FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". inside.fifa.com. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
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