Africa Cup of Nations - Qualification 2027/28

The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification is the preliminary stage for the primary men's international football competition in Africa. Organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the process determines which national teams join the host nation(s) in the final tournament. For the 2027 edition, hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, forty-eight member nations participate. Teams are drawn into twelve groups of four. The top two teams from the nine groups without a host nation qualify automatically, securing eighteen spots. In the three groups containing a host nation, the host qualifies automatically, and the highest-ranked non-host team qualifies, adding three more spots. This group stage structure determines twenty-one places in total. There are no play-offs for this edition.

Qualification matches were not held for the first two editions of the main tournament in 1957 and 1959; participation was by invitation or default among founding CAF members. The first qualification tournament was introduced for the 1962 edition. Historically, the qualification format has evolved with the expansion of the final tournament. A significant structural change occurred for the 2026 cycle, where CAF merged the qualification processes for the Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA World Cup into a single tournament. This means the same matches count for both competitions.

Egypt is the most successful nation in AFCON history, having won the tournament seven times. Nigeria holds the record for the most wins in the qualification stage. In terms of the current season, the participating nations include Sao Tome and Principe, Zambia, Benin, Eritrea, Namibia, and Egypt.