The preliminary draw for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers will take place on Tuesday, 13 January 2026, in Cairo, Egypt.
The draw will involve the 12 lowest-ranked African national teams, who will play two-legged ties to qualify for the group stage.
The teams in the preliminary round are Lesotho, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eswatini, South Sudan, Mauritius, Chad, São Tomé and Príncipe, Djibouti, Somalia, Seychelles, and Eritrea.
The six winners will join the 42 highest-ranked teams in the next phase of qualifiers. AFCON 2027 will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Fixtures for the preliminary round are expected to begin in the coming weeks.
