Africa: The Road to East Africa Mapped Out: The Qualifier Draw for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA 2027 Concluded

20 May 2026
Confederation of African Football (Egypt)

There were mouth-watering matchups and no shortage of fascinating ties as the Qualifier Draw for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) PAMOJA 2027 was concluded in Cairo on Tuesday, providing the 48 teams with their path to the finals in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

The tournament will be staged in East Africa for the first time in 51 years with 24 teams to be confirmed for the finals, which are to be staged from 19 June to 17 July 2027.

The ceremony was conducted by African football legends Max-Alain Gradel, William Troost-Ekong, Essam El Hadary and Trésor Mputu.

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Kenya coach Benni McCarthy will come up against South Africa, for whom he still holds the international goal-scoring record with 31. Guinea and Eritrea are the other two teams in Group D.

Morocco headline Group A and face Gabon, Niger and Lesotho, while Egypt have two trips to Southern Africa as they face Angola, Malawi and South Sudan in Group B
There is a West African flavour to Group C, which includes 2023 edition winners Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, The Gambia and Somalia.

DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe are in Group E, while Group F could be closely contested between Burkina Faso, Benin, Mauritania and the Central African Republic.

Cameroon take on Comoros, Namibia and Congo in Group G. Tunisia, Uganda, Libya and Botswana make up Group H, while Algeria, Zambia, Togo and Burundi are in Group I.

Senegal have been drawn with Mozambique, Sudan and Ethiopia in their pool.

Mali, Cape Verde, Rwanda and Liberia are in Group K, and Nigeria take on Madagascar, Tanzania and Guinea-Bissau in Group L.

Qualifying Rules and Format
The qualifiers will be played in the form of home and away matches (six matchdays per team).

• General rule: The teams ranked first and second in each group will qualify directly for the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON PAMOJA 2027 finals.

• Host countries: Kenya (Group D), Uganda (Group H) and Tanzania (Group L) are automatically qualified as co-hosts of the historic PAMOJA 2027 event. Therefore, in Groups D, H and L, only the highest-ranked team (outside the host country) will qualify for the finals.

Matchdays
The FIFA international windows for the holding of these qualifiers are set as follows:
• Days 1 & 2: From 21 September to 6 October 2026
• Days 3 & 4: From 9 to 17 November 2026
• Rounds 5 & 6: From 22 to 30 March 2027

TotalEnergies CAF AFCON PAMOJA 2027 Qualifiers Draw
GROUP A: Morocco, Gabon, Niger, Lesotho
GROUP B: Egypt, Angola, Malawi, South Sudan
GROUP C: Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, The Gambia, Somalia
GROUP D: South Africa, Guinea, Kenya, Eritrea
GROUP E: DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe
GROUP F: Burkina Faso, Benin, Mauritania, Central African Republic
GROUP G: Cameroon, Comoros, Namibia, Congo
GROUP H: Tunisia, Uganda, Libya, Botswana
GROUP I: Algeria, Zambia, Togo, Burundi
GROUP J: Senegal, Mozambique, Sudan, Ethiopia
GROUP K: Mali, Cape Verde, Rwanda, Liberia
GROUP L: Nigeria, Madagascar, Tanzania, Guinea-Bissau


For more information on the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) PAMOJA 2027, please visit www.cafonline.com

Read the original article on CAF.

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