The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will on Tuesday conduct the qualifying draw for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), officially launching the race to the continental tournament to be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
CAF confirmed in a statement on Sunday that the draw will take place at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association in Cairo from 15h00 local time (12h00 GMT), with the ceremony to be broadcast live on CAF TV.
“The road to the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) PAMOJA 2027 is set to deliver another thrilling qualification campaign as 48 nations enter the group stage of the preliminaries, with several heavyweight teams and emerging football nations all dreaming of a place at the main table ahead of the draw in Cairo on Tuesday, 19 May,” CAF stated.
The tournament, tagged ‘AFCON PAMOJA 2027’, will be the first edition in the competition’s history to be co-hosted by three countries.
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“The TotalEnergies CAF AFCON PAMOJA 2027 will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and will be played from 19 June-17 July 2027, ” CAF added.
CAF said the championship will also mark the return of the AFCON to East Africa for the first time since Ethiopia hosted the competition in 1976.
The qualification process has already started with preliminary-round matches involving lower-ranked countries across the continent.
“The qualification process has already begun with a preliminary round involving the lowest-ranked sides on the continent. Those ties, played over two legs on a home-and-away basis, produced dramatic results as teams battled to keep their hopes alive of reaching the finals.
“South Sudan, Burundi, Somalia, Lesotho, Eritrea and Ethiopia emerged victorious from that round and join the 42 top-ranked sides on the continent in the group stages.”
A total of 48 teams will participate in the qualifiers and will be divided into 12 groups of four teams each.
“The 48 teams will be divided into 12 groups, with the top two sides in each pool qualifying automatically for the finals. Co-hosts Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are guaranteed places at the tournament regardless of their qualification results, meaning only one other team will emerge from their pools.”
CAF added that the qualification campaign will be played across three FIFA international windows between September 2026 and March 2027, stating that “The qualifiers have been broken down into three parts, each containing two match days.
“The first two games will be played in the FIFA International Window from 21 September-6 October 2026. Matchdays 3 & 4 will be played 9-17 November 2026 and the final Matchdays 5 & 6 from 22-30 March 2027.”
Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire are among the leading contenders expected to qualify for the finals, but CAF said recent campaigns have shown that African football is becoming more competitive.
“Traditional African powerhouses of the continent are all expected to be among the strongest contenders, but as we have seen in recent editions, there are usually several sides who can spring a surprise.”
CAF also highlighted the ambitions of countries seeking their first appearance at the tournament.
“Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Somalia and South Sudan are all seeking to qualify for the continent finals for the first time.”
According to the governing body, the structure of the qualifiers means every point could become decisive in the race for qualification.
“The qualification campaign is expected to feature several closely balanced groups where even small details could prove decisive. With teams playing home-and-away fixtures across multiple international windows, away results and goal difference may ultimately determine which nations progress.
“So-called ‘smaller’ football nations will hope to cause upsets against more established opposition and continue their football development on the continental stage.
“The expansion and growing competitiveness of African football means there are fewer easy fixtures than ever before. Every point will matter as teams chase one of the coveted places at the finals.”
The 48 countries participating in the qualifiers are Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
