The 2027 African Nations Cup qualifiers are about to kick off the race to qualify for the final phase of the competition, which will bring together the best African nations in 2027.
The first two matchdays of the group stage will be played from September 24 to October 6, 2026, with 48 teams divided into 12 groups of four.
Several high-profile matches will punctuate this opening round. Among them, a highly anticipated West African clash will pit Ivory Coast against Ghana, two former African champions. Meanwhile, Morocco will host Gabon at the Prince Moulay Abdallah Sports Complex.
Seven-time African champions Egypt will host Angola at the Cairo International Stadium, while Algeria will face Zambia at the Hocine-Aït-Ahmed Stadium in Tizi-Ouzou.
The second day will begin on Monday, September 28, notably with the Central African Republic hosting Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone travelling to Equatorial Guinea, as well as the Zimbabwe-DR Congo and Botswana-Tunisia matches.
A new series of matches is scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, including Lesotho-Morocco, Burundi-Algeria, Mozambique-Sudan and Ethiopia-Senegal.
The qualifiers will take place over six matchdays, with matches played both at home and away. The 48 participating teams have been divided into 12 groups of four.
After the first two matchdays, the campaign will resume during the FIFA international window, from November 9 to 17, 2026, before the final two matchdays scheduled from March 22 to 30, 2027.
At the end of the group stage, the teams ranked first and second in each group, not including a host country, will secure their ticket to the final stage of the TotalEnergies CAF CAN PAMOJA 2027.
Kenya (Group D), Uganda (Group H), and Tanzania (Group L), the co-host countries, have automatically qualified, regardless of their results in the qualifiers. Within each of these groups, the highest-ranked team among the other nations will also qualify for the final tournament.
The TotalEnergies CAF CAN PAMOJA 2027 will take place from June 19 to July 17, 2027, in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The flagship competition of African football will thus return to East Africa for the first time in over five decades.
DAY ONE — All times are given in GMT
- Group A: Morocco-Gabon (25/09, 7:00 PM), Niger-Lesotho (25/09, 3:00 PM)
- Group B: Egypt-Angola (25/09, 7:00 PM), Malawi-South Sudan (25/09, 4:00 PM)
- Group C: Ivory Coast-Ghana (24/09, 7:00 PM), Gambia-Somalia (25/09, 4:00 PM)
- Group D: South Africa vs. Guinea (26/09, 4:00 PM), Kenya vs. Eritrea (26/09, 1:00 PM)
- Group E: DR Congo-Equatorial Guinea (24/09, 16:00), Sierra Leone-Zimbabwe (24/09, 19:00)
- Group F: Burkina Faso-Benin (25/09, 7:00 PM), Mauritania-Central African Republic (24/09, 4:00 PM)
- Group G: Cameroon-Comoros (24/09, 7:00 PM), Namibia-Congo (24/09, 1:00 PM)
- Group H: Tunisia vs. Uganda (24/09, 7:00 PM), Libya vs. Botswana (24/09, 4:00 PM)
- Group I: Algeria-Zambia (25/09, 7:00 PM), Togo-Burundi (25/09, 4:00 PM)
- Group J: Senegal-Mozambique (25/09, 7:00 PM), Sudan-Ethiopia (25/09, 4:00 PM)
- Group K: Mali-Cape Verde (25/09, 7:00 PM), Rwanda-Liberia (25/09, 4:00 PM)
- Group L: Nigeria-Madagascar (25/09, 4:00 PM), Tanzania-Guinea-Bissau (25/09, 1:00 PM)
DAY TWO — All times are given in GMT
- Group A: Gabon-Niger (29/09, 7:00 PM), Lesotho-Morocco (29/09, 1:00 PM)
- Group B: Angola-Malawi (06/10, 7:00 PM), South Sudan-Egypt (29/09, 1:00 PM)
- Group C: Ghana-Gambia (29/09, 4:00 PM), Somalia-Ivory Coast ( 29/09, 7:00 PM)
- Group D: Guinea-Kenya (01/10, 4:00 PM), Eritrea-South Africa (30/09, 4:00 PM)
- Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs. Sierra Leone (28/09, 4:00 PM), Zimbabwe vs. DR Congo (28/09, 4:00 PM)
- Group F: Benin-Mauritania (29/09, 7:00 PM), Central African Republic-Burkina Faso (28/09, 4:00 PM)
- Group G: Comoros-Namibia (29/09, 11:00), Congo-Cameroon (29/09, 19:00)
- Group H: Uganda-Libya (29/09, 4:00 PM), Botswana-Tunisia (28/09, 7:00 PM)
- Group I: Zambia-Togo (29/09, 4:00 PM), Burundi-Algeria (29/09, 1:00 PM)
- Group J: Mozambique-Sudan (29/09, 13:00), Ethiopia-Senegal (29/09, 13:00)
- Group K: Cape Verde-Rwanda (29/09, 4:00 PM), Liberia-Mali (29/09, 7:00 PM)
- Group L: Madagascar-Tanzania (29/09, 13:00), Guinea-Bissau-Nigeria (29/09, 16:00)
Credit CAFONLINE
