2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Last updated
2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
Tournament details
Dates23 March 2026 – 16 November 2026
Teams54 (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.

Contents

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, originally scheduled for 19 December 2025, was postponed to 13 January 2026.

Teams ranked 1st to 42nd received a bye to the qualifying group stage, while the teams ranked 43rd to 54th have to participate in the preliminary round.

From the January 2026 FIFA World Rankings [1]
Bye to group stageParticipating in preliminary round
  1. Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco (8)
  2. Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal (12)
  3. Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria (26)
  4. Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria (28)
  5. Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt (31)
  6. Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia (41)
  7. Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast (42)
  8. Flag of Mali.svg  Mali (53)
  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 (67)
  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 (91)
  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 (109)
  25. Flag of Niger.svg  Niger (110)
  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 (115)
  30. Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia (116)
  31. Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan (117)
  32. Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia (118)
  33. Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone (120)
  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)
  1. Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho (144)
  2. Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi (145)
  3. Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia (147)
  4. Flag of Eswatini.svg  Eswatini (159)
  5. Flag of South Sudan.svg  South Sudan (168)
  6. Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius (176)
  7. Flag of Chad.svg  Chad (177)
  8. Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg  São Tomé and Príncipe (189)
  9. Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti (196)
  10. Flag of Somalia.svg  Somalia (200)
  11. Flag of Seychelles.svg  Seychelles (203)
  12. Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea [2] (unranked)

Schedule

The schedule of the qualifying tournament is as follows.

RoundMatchdayDatesMatches
Preliminary round First leg25–31 March 2026Team 1 vs. Team 2
Second leg25–31 March 2026Team 2 vs. Team 1
Group stage Matchday 121 September – 6 October 2026Team 1 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 4
Matchday 2Team 2 vs. Team 3, Team 4 vs. Team 1
Matchday 3Team 1 vs. Team 3, Team 2 vs. Team 4
Matchday 4Team 3 vs. Team 1, Team 4 vs. Team 2
Matchday 59–17 November 2026Team 2 vs. Team 1, Team 4 vs. Team 3
Matchday 6Team 3 vs. Team 2, Team 1 vs. Team 4

Preliminary round

The twelve teams were split into six ties which were played in home-and-away two-legged format. [3]

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Djibouti  Flag of Djibouti.svgFlag of South Sudan.svg  South Sudan 25–31 Mar 25–31 Mar
Chad  Flag of Chad.svgFlag of Burundi.svg  Burundi 25–31 Mar 25–31 Mar
Somalia  Flag of Somalia.svgFlag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius 25–31 Mar 25–31 Mar
Seychelles  Flag of Seychelles.svgFlag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho 25–31 Mar 25–31 Mar
Eritrea  Flag of Eritrea.svgFlag of Eswatini.svg  Eswatini 25–31 Mar 25–31 Mar
São Tomé and Príncipe  Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svgFlag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 25–31 Mar 25–31 Mar

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". inside.fifa.com. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  2. ↑ "Eritrea included in Afcon 2027 preliminary qualifying". BBC. 13 January 2026. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  3. ↑ "Road to AFCON Pamoja 2027 Kicks Off as Preliminary Round Draw Sets the Stage". africatopsports.com. 13 January 2026. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
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