Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifiers: Cote d’Ivoire v Ghana headlines opening day

The Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifying campaign begins on Thursday, 24 September 2026, with eight matches scheduled across the continent.

The first game starts at 13:00 GMT, when Namibia face Congo. The day’s programme also features the highly anticipated meeting between Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, which kicks off at 19:00 GMT.

There are also appearances for RD Congo, Cameroon and Tunisia as the race for qualification gets under way.

The full schedule, with all times in GMT, is:

– 13:00 – Namibia v Congo – 16:00 – Libya v Botswana – 16:00 – RD Congo v Equatorial Guinea – 17:00 – Mauritania v Central African Republic – 19:00 – Cote d’Ivoire v Ghana – 19:00 – Cameroon v Comoros – 19:00 – Tunisia v Uganda – 20:00 – Sierra Leone v Zimbabwe