CAF sets out rules for 2027 AFCON qualifying draw in Cairo

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has detailed the rules and structure for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying draw, which will determine the path of 48 national teams to the continental tournament.

The draw is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association in Cairo, beginning at 12:00 GMT. It will divide the 48 participating nations into 12 groups of four teams each, based on seeding pots determined by FIFA rankings as of April 1, 2026.

According to the structure outlined by Guineematin, each group will feature one team from each of the four pots, ensuring a balanced distribution of teams across the competition.

In Pot 1 are the continent’s top-ranked sides, including Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Cameroon, DR Congo, Mali, South Africa and Burkina Faso.

Pot 2 features teams such as Guinea, Ghana, Gabon, Uganda, Angola, Benin, Zambia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Equatorial Guinea, Comoros and Cape Verde.

Pot 3 includes Kenya, Libya, Tanzania, Niger, Mauritania, Gambia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Togo, Malawi and Rwanda, while Pot 4 contains Zimbabwe, Guinea-Bissau, Congo, Central African Republic, Liberia, Burundi, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Botswana, South Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia.

Special rules apply to the three host nations of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations — Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda — who cannot be drawn into the same qualifying group.

As Kenya and Tanzania are both placed in Pot 3, they are automatically assigned to separate groups. Uganda is subject to an additional safeguard: if drawn into a group containing either Kenya or Tanzania, it will be moved to the next available group to avoid overlap.

CAF will conduct the draw starting from Pot 4 through to Pot 1, filling positions from A4 to L4 before completing each group in sequence.

The qualification system also sets out clear progression rules. In groups without a host nation, the top two teams will qualify for the final tournament.

In groups containing a host, the host nation qualifies automatically. If the host finishes first, the second-placed team also progresses; however, if the host finishes outside the top two, only the group winner will advance.

The qualifiers will be played across six matchdays scheduled between September and October 2026, November 2026, and March 2027.