Overview
- CAF staged the qualifying draw on Tuesday in Cairo, placing 48 national teams into 12 groups for a 24-team finals field.
- Ghana will face Ivory Coast in Group C alongside The Gambia and Somalia in one of the marquee pairings.
- South Africa landed in Group D with Kenya, Guinea and Eritrea, with Kenya in as co-host leaving one berth for the others, and Benni McCarthy coaching Kenya against his home nation.
- Qualifiers will be home and away over six matchdays set in FIFA windows on Sept 21–Oct 6 and Nov 9–17, 2026, then Mar 22–30, 2027.
- The finals are scheduled for June 19–July 17, 2027 in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and CAF’s president has said the event will proceed there despite preparation challenges.