The official road to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations begins January 13 2026, with the draw for the preliminary qualifying round. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will conduct the draw, which will be broadcast live on CAF TV at 12:00 GMT.
The preliminary round involves the 12 lowest-ranked CAF nations, who are competing for six spots in the main group stage. The draw will pair each team from Pot 1 with a team from Pot 2.
Pot 1 (Higher-ranked): Lesotho, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eswatini, South Sudan, Mauritius.
Pot 2 (Lower-ranked): Chad, São Tomé and Príncipe, Djibouti, Somalia, Seychelles, Eritrea.
The lower-ranked team in each pairing will host the first leg of the two-match tie.
The 2027 AFCON will be a historic event, co-hosted for the first time by three nations: Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The main tournament is scheduled for June-July 2027. The six winners from this preliminary round will advance to join Africa’s top 42-ranked nations in the group stage draw.
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The full qualification process is scheduled to run from March to November 2026.
This draw marks the first competitive step for a dozen nations aiming to reach the continental finals in East Africa.
