CAF Confirms Key Dates for 2027 AFCON Qualifiers

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially confirmed the full schedule for the qualifiers of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), setting the stage for 48 national teams to compete for a place at the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The qualification campaign will consist of six matchdays played between September 2026 and March 2027, with teams battling for qualification to what will be the first AFCON edition hosted by three East African nations.

The opening two rounds of qualifiers will take place during the September FIFA international window. Matchday 1 is scheduled for September 23-25, followed by Matchday 2 from September 27-29. National teams will then have an opportunity to play friendly matches in early October before resuming their qualification campaigns. The qualifiers will continue in November 2026 with Matchdays 3 and 4, while the final two rounds will be played during the FIFA window in late March 2027, when the remaining qualification spots will be decided.

The 48 participating teams have been divided into 12 groups of four, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the final tournament. The 2027 AFCON finals will be held from June 19 to July 17, 2027, across multiple cities in the three host nations. Matches will be played in Nairobi and Kakamega in Kenya, Dar es Salaam, Arusha, and Zanzibar in Tanzania, as well as Kampala and Hoima in Uganda.

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