2027 Africa Cup of Nations Qualification
FIFA Region
CAF
Season
2027
Location
Africa
Abbreviation
AFNCUPQ
Summary
The 2027 CAF African Cup of Nations Qualifying (AFNCUPQ) runs from 25 March 2026 to 16 November 2026. 54 CAF member countries entered into this tournament. Tournament seeds were based on the 2025 FIFA World Rankings (19 December 2025).
This tournament applies the typical "WIN" = 3pts, "DRAW" = 1 pt to determine table positions. Table ranking ties are broken by (1) head-to-head goal difference, (2) head-to-head goals scored, (3) head-to-head away goals scored, (4) in-group goal difference, (5) in-group goals scored, (6) in-group away goals scored, then (7) a drawing.
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Competition Structure
| Stage | # Teams | New Teams Entering This Round | Teams From Previous Round | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Round | 12 | 12 CAF teams ranked 43 to 54 | 6 sets of Home/Away matches, highest aggregate goals advances to the Group Stage | |
| Group | 48 | 42 CAF teams ranked 1 to 42 | 6 winners from Preliminary Round | 12 groups of 4 with Home/Away matches against each team in group, the 1st and 2nd place team in each group advances to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFNCUP) |
Preliminary Round
| Date | Home | Status | Road | Venue | ||||
| Aggregate | Eritrea | 41 | Eswatini |
| Aggregate | Djibouti | 14 | South Sudan |
| 26.03.26 |  | 04 | South Sudan | Juba Stadium |
| 29.03.26 | | 01 | Djibouti | Juba Stadium |
| Aggregate | Seychelles | 12 | Lesotho |
| 26.03.26 |  | 00 | Lesotho | Toyota Stadium (Bloemfontein) |
| 29.03.26 | | 21 | Seychelles | Toyota Stadium (Bloemfontein) |
| Aggregate | Somalia | 00 | Mauritius |
| Aggregate | Chad | 08 | Burundi |
| Aggregate | São Tomé e Principe | 04 | Ethiopia |
| 27.03.26 |  | 03 | Ethiopia | Stade Ben Ahmed El Abdi |
| 31.03.26 | | 10 | São Tomé e Principe | Dire Dawa Stadium |