By Kwame Bediako
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will launch the qualifying process for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday, January 15 , 2026 starting at 12:00 GMT live on CAF TV.
This preliminary round draw represents the first official step toward the continental finals, set to be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The draw focuses on matchups for the preliminary stage, designed exclusively for the 12 lowest-ranked African nations according to the latest FIFA World Rankings.
While these teams battle for survival, the other 42 nations on the continent earn automatic entry into the group stage qualifiers.
The competing teams include Lesotho, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eswatini, South Sudan, Mauritius, Chad, São Tomé and Príncipe, Djibouti, Somalia, Seychelles, and Eritrea.
To promote fairness, CAF has divided them into two pots based purely on rankings: Pot 1 holds the higher-ranked six; Lesotho, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eswatini, South Sudan, and Mauritius, while Pot 2 features the lowest six: Chad, São Tomé and Príncipe, Djibouti, Somalia, Seychelles, and Eritrea.
In the draw procedure, teams from Pot 1 will pair with those from Pot 2 to form six two-legged ties. The lower-ranked team in each matchup hosts the first leg, injecting added intensity into these early clashes.
The six winners from this round will advance to join the 42 seeded nations in the group stage draw, accelerating the race toward the 2027 AFCON finals and setting the stage for Africa’s top teams to shine.
