For the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations in 2027, CAF conducted this Tuesday, August 25, at its headquarters in Egypt, the draw for the qualifying rounds, played in three rounds. In total, 43 nations are involved, but Egypt is directly qualified as host country. The other 42 selections will thus compete for the seven remaining berths.
The 14 fixtures of the first round
Twenty-eight teams will enter in the first round, organized in home-and-away confrontations. The 14 winners will then meet the 14 teams exempted.
The draw, carried out according to geographic criteria, produced the following pairings:
Sierra Leone – Burkina Faso
Mauritania – DR Congo
São Tomé-and-Príncipe – Equatorial Guinea
Togo – Libya
Tunisia – Benin
Kenya – Tanzania
Djibouti – South Sudan
Ethiopia – Uganda
Rwanda – Sudan
Comoros – Madagascar
Angola – Namibia
Seychelles – Botswana
Malawi – Eswatini
Zimbabwe – Mauritius
The complete second-round bracket
The first legs of the second round will take place on 9 November 2026 and the return matches on 17 November.
Here are the 14 ties determined by the draw:
Winner of Sierra Leone–Burkina Faso – Zambia
Winner of Mauritania–DR Congo – Nigeria
Winner of São Tomé-and-Príncipe–Equatorial Guinea – Niger
Winner of Togo–Libya – Ghana
Winner of Tunisia–Benin – Gabon
Winner of Kenya–Tanzania – Ivory Coast
Winner of Djibouti–South Sudan – Senegal
Winner of Ethiopia–Uganda – Morocco
Winner of Rwanda–Sudan – Cameroon
Winner of Comoros–Madagascar – South Africa
Winner of Angola–Namibia – Congo
Winner of Seychelles–Botswana – Guinea
Winner of Malawi–Eswatini – Algeria
Winner of Zimbabwe–Mauritius – Mali
7 billets for the final phase in Egypt
The 14 qualifiers of the second round will then contest a third and final two-legged round. Its seven winners will join Egypt to form the eight-team lineup of the final phase, announced in November 2027. The dates of the first and the third rounds as well as the bracket for this last stage remain to be officially confirmed.
CAF confirmed that the competition held in Egypt will also serve as the African qualifying tournament for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Two direct places have been allocated to the continent for the men’s tournament, but the exact mechanism of their allocation still needs to be detailed in the regulations of the event.
Morocco will approach this edition with the status of defending champions. In 2023, the Atlas Lions had defeated Egypt in the final after extra time (2-1) to win their first Africa U-23 Cup of Nations.
