- Home 聽聽>聽聽
- Football 聽聽>聽聽
- Africa Cup of Nations Qualification 聽聽>聽聽
- AFCON qualifiers begin amid uncertainty over winner
AFCON qualifiers begin amid uncertainty over winner
A new cycle of Africa Cup of Nations competition gets under way in earnest on Friday as group qualifiers for the 2027 finals kick off, with the winner of the last edition still in dispute.
A total of 48 countries are divided into 12 groups and begin a six-round qualifying process running to March next year, with the top two in nine of the groups advancing to the finals.
The tournament is being co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, who are also competing in the qualifiers. In the groups in which they play, only one other side will go through to the 24-team tournament, which will take place from 19 June - 17 July.
However, with the finals less than a year away, the continent still awaits a decision on the last Cup of Nations decider in Morocco in January.
Senegal beat the host in the final but because it walked off the pitch in a 14-minute protest towards the end, it was stripped of the title and it was handed to Morocco.
Senegal has appealed against the Confederation of African Football's decision and it will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 8 October.
Morocco went on to be the best-performing African side at the World Cup, reaching the quarter-finals, and begin their Cup of Nations Group A qualifiers at home to Gabon in Rabat before facing Lesotho on September 29 in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Lesotho is one of 12 countries forced to play home games at a neutral venue because it does not have a stadium that Africa's governing body CAF deems adequate for international competition.
Senegal has switched its home fixture against Mozambique because of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games and start its Group J campaign in Maputo on Saturday, with Patrick Vieira its new manager after a disappointing World Cup. Sadio Mane is one of several previously key players not in his first squad.
Tunisia was the only one of 10 African countries at the World Cup who did not get past the first round and has also made many changes with only 14 players retained from this year's tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.
New coach Moin Chaabani debuts against Uganda in Group H on Friday as Tunisia looks to extend its record number of successive finals appearances to 18.
The opening round of games features a heavyweight derby between Ivory Coast and Ghana in Group C on Friday, while South Africa's clash with Guinea in Johannesburg on Sunday is also vital for both countries even at the start of the campaign.
