…Ivory Coast, Ghana is crunch Group C battle
The Super Eagles of Nigeria will face Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau and co-host Tanzania in Group L of the qualifying series for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
This was the outcome of the draw which took place on Tuesday in Cairo, Egypt, for the apex continental football
The draw, organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), officially launched the qualification campaign for the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania under the “PAMOJA 2027” banner.
A total of 48 nations were drawn into 12 groups of four teams, with the top teams advancing to the continental tournament scheduled to take place from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
Nigeria, one of Africa’s top-seeded nations, will be aiming to secure qualification after finishing third at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, where the Super Eagles defeated Egypt on penalties to win the bronze medal. Nigeria also won silver after losing 2-1 to host Cote d’Ivoire in the 2023 edition held early 2024.
The inclusion of Tanzania in Group L adds an interesting dimension to the qualifiers, as the East African nation has already secured automatic qualification as one of the tournament’s co-hosts.
Under CAF’s qualification format, hosts will still participate in the qualifiers despite already being guaranteed a place at the finals.
CAF confirmed that the qualification matches will be played across multiple FIFA international windows beginning later this year.
The 2027 edition will mark the first time in more than five decades that the Africa Cup of Nations will return to East Africa, and it will also be the first tournament to be jointly hosted by three countries in the region.
Full AFCON 2027 Qualifying Groups
Group A: Morocco, Gabon, Niger Republic, Lesotho
Group B: Egypt, Angola, Malawi, South Sudan
Group C: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Somalia, Gambia
Group D: South Africa, Guinea, Eritrea, Kenya
Group E: DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe
Group F: Burkina Faso, Benin Republic, 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, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Sudan
Group K: Mali, Cape Verde, Rwanda, Liberia
Group L: Nigeria, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Tanzania
