The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially released the preliminary round draw for the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in a historic first for East African football.
According to CAF, the qualifying campaign will take place in 2026, beginning with a preliminary round scheduled for September.
A total of 12 teams will contest the preliminary round, comprising the lowest-ranked nations in the latest FIFA World Rankings. The remaining 42 countries have qualified automatically for the group stage.
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The 12 teams involved, in ranking order, are Lesotho, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eswatini, South Sudan, Mauritius, Chad, São Tomé and Príncipe, Djibouti, Somalia, Seychelles, and Eritrea.
For the preliminary round, the teams will be divided into two pots. The six highest-ranked teams in Pot 1 will face the six lowest-ranked teams in Pot 2, with the first leg of each tie played at the home venue of the lower-ranked team.
The first team drawn from Pot 1 will play the first team drawn from Pot 2, with the process repeated until all six fixtures are confirmed.
CAF also confirmed that the final round of group fixtures, Matchdays 5 and 6, will be played between November 9 and 17, 2026.
The AFCON 2027 will be staged across three East African countries, reflecting CAF’s commitment to expanding the competition’s footprint and promoting football development across the region.
The tournament is scheduled to kick off in June 2027, with expectations already building for a vibrant and highly competitive championship.
Following the conclusion of the preliminary round, the six winners will advance to join the 42 highest-ranked nations in the draw for the group stage of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers.
