The 48 teams entering the qualifiers have been divided into four pots, with Ghana and Cape Verde — both qualified for the 2026 World Cup this summer — absent from Pot 1.
The Black Stars and Blue Sharks secured places at the global tournament, to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11, after both failed to qualify for the 2025 AFCON finals.
The seedings were determined according to the latest FIFA rankings, with 10 of the 12 teams in Pot 1 having previously won Africa’s premier football tournament.
Among them are Morocco, who lost a dramatic 2025 final to Senegal in Rabat before later being awarded the title following an appeal lodged with CAF.
Several Senegal players had walked off the pitch after Morocco were awarded a penalty before later returning. Ibrahim Diaz missed the spot-kick before Pape Gueye scored the winner in extra time.
Senegal responded to being stripped of the title by appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland, with a ruling still pending.
Four-time African champions Ghana suffered the humiliation of finishing bottom of their 2025 qualifying group behind Angola, Sudan and modest Niger.
Cape Verde also endured a disappointing continental qualifying campaign, winning just one of six matches and finishing last behind Egypt, Botswana and Mauritania.
But both Ghana and Cape Verde recovered in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, topping their respective groups, with the latter’s success ahead of Cameroon among the biggest surprises.
Guinea, inspired by the form of Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy, are among the Pot 2 teams hoping to bounce back after failing to qualify for the 2025 finals in Morocco.
Concerns over readiness
The top two teams in each of the nine groups will qualify for the finals. Co-hosts Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda automatically qualify for the tournament, scheduled from June 19 to July 17, 2027, but will take part in the qualifiers to gain competitive match experience.
The presence of the three hosts means only one team will qualify from any group containing one of them.
Persistent concerns have been raised over the ability of the three East African nations to host the region’s first AFCON since Ethiopia staged the 1976 finals.
But CAF president Patrice Motsepe of South Africa insisted the 2027 edition would begin on schedule, telling reporters: “The next Africa Cup of Nations will take place in East Africa, and I have no doubt about that despite all the challenges.”
The first and second qualifying rounds will be played on Sept. 21 and Oct. 6, followed by the third and fourth rounds on Nov. 9 and Nov. 17. The fifth and sixth and final rounds are scheduled for March 22 and March 30, 2027.
Seedings:
Pot 1: Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Cameroon, DR Congo, Mali, South Africa, Burkina Faso
Pot 2: Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea, Gabon, Uganda, Angola, Benin, Zambia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Equatorial Guinea, Comoros
Pot 3: Kenya, Libya, Tanzania, Niger, Mauritania, Gambia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Togo, Malawi, Rwanda
Pot 4: Zimbabwe, Guinea-Bissau, Congo Brazzaville, Central African Republic, Liberia, Burundi, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Botswana, South Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia
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