The road to AFCON 2027 features an unusual format because three countries will jointly host the tournament. The competition will include 24 national teams, with qualifying determining the 21 participants who will join Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
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How Many Teams Qualify for AFCON 2027 and What Do They Need to Advance?
The final tournament will feature 24 teams. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have already secured their places as hosts, while 48 national teams will compete in the group stage to determine the remaining 21 spots.
Following a preliminary round involving 12 teams, six nations advanced to join the other 42 that entered directly.
That produced 48 participants in the main qualifying stage, divided into 12 groups of four.
Each national team will play six matches: three at home and three away.
How many teams qualify from each group?
In nine of the 12 groups, the teams finishing first and second will qualify.
That will produce 18 places.
The exception involves the groups containing one of the host nations:
- Group D: Kenya.
- Group H: Uganda.
- Group L: Tanzania.
All three countries have already qualified automatically, regardless of their results.
Therefore, in each of those groups, only the highest-placed team among the other three participants will secure an additional qualification spot.
What does this mean for Nigeria, South Africa and Tunisia?
Nigeria share Group L with Tanzania, Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau.
Because Tanzania already have a guaranteed place, only the highest-placed team among Nigeria, Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau will secure the remaining spot.
The same situation affects South Africa and Tunisia.
South Africa will compete with Guinea and Eritrea for Group D's additional place, while Tunisia will face Libya and Botswana for the available spot in Group H.
How will the 24-team lineup be completed?
The final breakdown will be:
- 18 qualifiers from the nine groups without a host.
- 3 additional qualifiers from Groups D, H and L.
- 3 automatically qualified hosts.
Total: 24 national teams.
When will qualification be decided?
The qualifiers will begin on September 24, 2026, and conclude during the international window from March 22 to 30, 2027.
After six matches per national team, the lineup will be finalized for the tournament beginning on June 19, 2027.
