AFCON: CAF releases draw for preliminary round of 2027 qualifying

Confederation of African Football (CAF) has concluded the Preliminary Round Qualifiers draw of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations to be co-hosted in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania.

A total of 12 teams will part in the Preliminary Round, which contains the lower placed sides in the latest FIFA World Rankings, while the remaining 42 nations have qualified directly for the group stage of the qualifiers.

The preliminary round draw saw the 12 teams divided into two Pots. The six highest-ranked teams in Pot 1 will face the six lowest-ranked teams in Pot 2, with the first leg of each tie played at the home venue of the lower-ranked team.

Seychelles and Lesotho will face off

According to the draw, Seychelles and Lesotho will face off in an all-Southern African tie that will see the Indian Ocean island nation host the first leg, while Djibouti and South Sudan meet in a fixture between two East African nations, with Djibouti at home first.

Chad will host Burundi in the first leg of their tie, while Somalia welcome Mauritius for the opening leg of their fixture. Eritrea will be at home first when they host Eswatini, and São Tomé and Príncipe welcome Ethiopia for the first leg of their clash.

The matches will be played during the next FIFA International window, between 25–31 March 2026.

Preliminary Round Draw

M1 & M2: Djibouti vs South Sudan
M3 & M4: Chad vs Burundi
M5 & M6: Somalia vs Mauritius
M7 & M8: Seychelles vs Lesotho
M9 & M10: Eritrea vs Eswatini
M11 & M12: Sao Tome e Principe vs Ethiopia