AFCON 2027 Qualifying Draw Charts the Road to Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania

The path to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations has been mapped out, after CAF concluded the qualifying draw in Cairo and sent 48 teams into 12 groups on the road to a tournament that will make history before a ball is even kicked.

For the first time, AFCON will be hosted by three nations at once — Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania — running from June 19 to July 17, 2027. It will also be the first edition staged in the CECAFA region since Ethiopia hosted in 1976, a half-century gap that underlines how significant this return to East Africa is for the tournament and the region alike.

The draw threw up groups laden with intrigue. Reigning contenders Morocco were paired with Gabon, Niger and Lesotho, while Egypt find themselves alongside Angola, Malawi and South Sudan. Senegal's group includes Mozambique, Sudan and Ethiopia, and Nigeria will navigate a section featuring Madagascar, Tanzania and Guinea-Bissau — with the wrinkle that Tanzania, as a host nation, will still play qualifiers before their automatic berth is confirmed.

The format sees the top two finishers in each of the 12 groups qualify for the finals, joining the three automatic hosts to complete a 24-team field once qualifying wraps up in March 2027. Matches will be played across the FIFA windows in March, September and October, and November of 2026, before concluding fixtures the following spring.

For East Africa, long overshadowed by the continent's traditional football powerhouses, hosting AFCON is a chance to showcase a region on the rise. For the 48 competing nations, the qualifying campaign that now begins is the first step on the road to a tournament that promises to be unlike any other in the competition's history.