Mali v Cape Verde: TV channel and kick-off time for 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier

Mali begin their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign against Cape Verde on Friday at the Stade du 26-Mars in Bamako, with both sides starting a new era under different managers.

The match will kick off at 19:00 Mali time (GMT), 18:00 in Praia and 21:00 in France.

ORTM in Mali and TCV in Cape Verde are expected to show the game. In France, the match will be broadcast on beIN Sports Max 4, while beIN Sports MENA in North Africa and Canal+ in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa will also be among the broadcasters.

The fixture is one of the opening round’s most notable games and marks the beginning of a new qualifying cycle for both national teams. Anthony Da Silva will take charge of Mali for the first time, while Humberto Bettencourt has been appointed to lead Cape Verde, known as the Blue Sharks.

Mali will wear their new Wati B kit for the occasion. They are in a qualifying group that also contains Rwanda and Liberia.

Da Silva, who succeeded Tom Saintfiet, will be without Yves Bissouma, who recently joined Ajax Amsterdam, while El Bilal Toure has withdrawn in circumstances that have caused controversy. Moussa Sylla is also unavailable after being excused from the squad.

Sekou Koita and Mamadou Doumbia have been called up as replacements. Mali can nevertheless draw on a number of players enjoying good form, including Mamadou Sangare, who has made a quick impact at Brentford in the Premier League.

Lassine Sinayoko has also started the season strongly, having scored three goals in Ligue 1 for Paris FC. He is among the leading African scorers in Europe during the 2026-27 season.

Cape Verde arrive in Bamako with a significantly enhanced reputation following their historic 2026 World Cup campaign. The Blue Sharks progressed from a group containing Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia before reaching the last 16.

They then took Argentina to extra time, eventually losing 3-2. Following that run, Bubista left his position as manager and his former assistant Bettencourt took over.

The new Cape Verde coach will be able to call on several key figures from that World Cup campaign, including Vozinha, Pico Lopes and Ryan Mendes. Steven Moreira and Helio Varela, however, are both unavailable.

Mali and Cape Verde have met only twice before. Both matches came in qualifying for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, with each team recording one victory.