Nigeria’s Super Eagles will find out their opponents for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign on Tuesday when the Confederation of African Football stages the official draw in Cairo, Egypt.
Draw details and tournament format
- The draw, taking place in Cairo, will kick off the qualification process for AFCON 2027.
- The finals will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda under the theme “PAMOJA,” a Swahili word meaning “together.”
- CAF has outlined that 48 national teams will take part in the qualification phase, split into 12 groups of four.
- In each group, the leading two teams will earn automatic qualification to the tournament.
- Because the three host nations have already booked their spots, only one extra place will be available from each host’s group.
Dates, venues and qualification schedule
- The AFCON finals are scheduled for June 19 to July 17, 2027.
- The tournament will be the first edition with three co-hosts.
- It will also be the first time AFCON is held in East Africa since Ethiopia staged the competition in 1976.
- Qualification fixtures will be played during three FIFA international windows, spanning the period from September 2026 to March 2027.
Teams to watch and the wider impact
Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa are among the traditional continental heavyweights expected to contend aggressively for qualification places.
CAF also highlighted the growing competitiveness of African football, pointing to the improving performances of nations such as Comoros and Gambia in recent continental campaigns.
Beyond the pitch, CAF believes the tournament will provide a major lift to tourism, accelerate infrastructure development and strengthen regional cooperation across East Africa, while putting the host nations’ culture and passion at the centre of the event.
