All you need to know before AFCON 2027 AFCON qualifiers draw

The Confederation of African Football (Confederation of African Football) will today, May 19, 2026, conduct the official draw for the qualifiers of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, known as “CAN PAMOJA 2027,” with the continent’s football landscape set for a major reshuffle.

The ceremony will take place in Cairo at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association and will be broadcast live on CAF’s official YouTube channel, CAF TV.

The draw marks a significant milestone ahead of what will be the first AFCON edition co-hosted by three countries.

A total of 48 national teams are in the qualification race and will be divided into 12 groups of four.

The lineup includes 42 teams that qualified directly, alongside six nations emerging from the preliminary round: South Sudan, Burundi, Somalia, Lesotho, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.

Teams have been seeded into four pots of 12 based on the FIFA rankings released on April 1, 2026, with each group set to feature one team from each pot.

Pot 1 features some of the continent’s heavyweights, including Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Cameroon, DR Congo, Mali, South Africa, and Burkina Faso.

Pot 2 includes Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea, Gabon, Uganda, Angola, Benin, Zambia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Equatorial Guinea, and Comoros.

Pot 3 comprises Kenya, Libya, Tanzania, Niger, Mauritania, Gambia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Togo, Malawi, and Rwanda.

Pot 4 includes Zimbabwe, Guinea-Bissau, Congo, Central African Republic, Liberia, Burundi, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Botswana, South Sudan, Eritrea, and Somalia.

CAF has also introduced specific regulations for the three co-hosts of the tournament—Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda—ensuring they are not placed in the same qualifying group.

The hosts are already assured automatic qualification, with group dynamics adjusted accordingly depending on their final positions.

Under the qualification format, the top two teams in most groups will advance to the finals. However, in groups containing a host nation, only one additional team will qualify if the host finishes outside the top position.

The qualifiers will be played across three FIFA international windows between September 2026 and March 2027, with six matchdays in total.

The final tournament will run from June 19 to July 17, 2027, across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, setting the stage for a landmark edition of African football’s premier competition.