By Akinwale Kasali
The Confederation of African Football, CAF, has released the fixtures for the 2027 African Cup of Nations, AFCON, Qualifiers to be co-hosted by the trio of Eastern African countries, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria, who came third at the 2025 AFCON Tournament in Morocco has been grouped alongside; Madagascar, Tanzania and Guinea Bissau in Group L.
The draw was conducted at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association in Cairo on Tuesday, with former Super Eagles Captain, William Troost-Ekong, as one of the draw assistants.
A total of 48 teams will participate in the qualifiers, with the draw producing 12 groups and 24 teams qualifying for the finals.
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will host the tournament from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
Nigeria was drawn from Pot 1 and handed a relatively favourable path to the tournament.
However, due to the presence of Tanzania — which has qualified automatically as co-hosts — in the group, only the top team will qualify for the finals.
The same applies to other groups containing any of the co-hosts, while the top two teams from the remaining groups will qualify.
Among the notable groups, 2023 champions Côte d’Ivoire was drawn alongside Ghana, The Gambia and Somalia in Group C.
Winners of the 2025 edition, Senegal, will face Mozambique, Sudan and Ethiopia in Group J, while 2025 AFCON hosts, Morocco will face Gabon, Niger and Lesotho.
The qualifying campaign will be played across three international windows. The opening two match-days are scheduled for the FIFA window from September 21 to October 6, 2026, before Match-days Three and Four take place from November 9 to 17, 2026.
The final two rounds of matches will be played from March 22 to 30, 2027, when the line-up for the tournament is expected to be completed.
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