The race for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, has officially begun, with 48 countries battling for 21 available places at the tournament in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

The three East African countries will host the AFCON 2027 edition and have already secured automatic qualification, leaving the remaining nations to fight for the 21 spots still available.

The qualification format also means that not every group will produce two qualifiers, making the race particularly significant for teams drawn alongside the three hosts.

Here is everything to know about the AFCON 2027 qualifying process.

1. 48 countries are competing for 21 places

A total of 48 nations have been drawn into 12 groups of four teams.

Each team will play six matches — home and away against the other three countries in its group.

At the end of the qualifying campaign, 21 teams will join the three hosts to complete the 24-team AFCON 2027 lineup.

2. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are already qualified

As the three host nations, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have automatic places at AFCON 2027.

Their participation does not depend on their performance in the qualifying groups.

However, they will still compete in the qualifying campaign, creating a special situation in the three groups containing the hosts.

3. How many teams qualify from each group?

In the nine groups without a host nation, two teams will qualify.

That means:

1. Group A — 2 qualifiers
2. Group B — 2 qualifiers
3. Group C — 2 qualifiers
4. Group E — 2 qualifiers
5. Group F — 2 qualifiers
6. Group G — 2 qualifiers
7. Group I — 2 qualifiers
8. Group J — 2 qualifiers
9. Group K — 2 qualifiers

That produces 18 qualifiers.

The remaining three places will come from the groups containing the host nations.

4. Only one non-host team can qualify from the three host groups

This is where the qualification race becomes different.

The three host nations are spread across three groups:

Group D

1. South Africa
2. Guinea
3. Kenya
4. Eritrea

Group H

1. Tunisia
2. Uganda
3. Libya
4. Botswana

Group L

1. Nigeria
2. Madagascar
3. Tanzania
4. Guinea-Bissau

Because Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are already qualified as hosts, only one additional team can qualify from each of those groups.

Therefore:

1. Group D produces one additional qualifier
2. Group H produces one additional qualifier
3. Group L produces one additional qualifier

That gives the remaining three places needed to reach 21 qualifiers.

5. Nigeria’s Group L is particularly important

Nigeria have been drawn in Group L alongside Madagascar, Tanzania and Guinea-Bissau.

Tanzania are already qualified as one of the hosts.

As a result, Nigeria do not need to finish in a conventional top-two position to qualify.

Instead, the Super Eagles must finish above Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau to take the group’s single available qualification place.

This makes every point in Nigeria’s six matches potentially crucial.

6. Who cannot qualify from the host groups?

The three hosts cannot be eliminated from AFCON 2027 because they already have guaranteed places.

However, the other teams in their groups are effectively competing for one qualification ticket.

For example, in Group L, Nigeria, Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau are competing for the one available place alongside already-qualified Tanzania.

The same principle applies to South Africa, Guinea and Eritrea in Group D, and Tunisia, Libya and Botswana in Group H.

7. What happens in the other nine groups?

The qualification process is more straightforward in the other groups.

The top two teams after the six group matches will qualify for AFCON 2027.

There is therefore little room for error, with teams needing to accumulate enough points to finish inside the top two.

8. Full list of the 12 qualifying groups

Group A

Morocco, Gabon, Niger, Lesotho

Group B

Egypt, Angola, Malawi, South Sudan

Group C

Côte 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

9. When will the qualifiers be played?

The qualifying campaign is scheduled across three international windows.

The first two matchdays are being played in September and October 2026, followed by further fixtures in November 2026 and the final two matchdays in March 2027.

By the end of Matchday 6, all 21 remaining AFCON places will have been decided.

10. When is AFCON 2027?

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will be staged in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from 19 June to 17 July, 2027.

The tournament will feature 24 teams, consisting of the three automatic qualifiers and the 21 countries that emerge from the qualifying campaign.

The competition will bring together the continent’s leading national teams for the first AFCON edition to be jointly hosted by the three East African countries. ( Vanguard)