FIFA World Cup 2026 Africa Qualifying Groups Draw – The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification for the CAF (Confederation of African Football) will determine the teams that will participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is set to be hosted by the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico.
In this qualification tournament, a total of nine slots in the final tournament will be allocated to teams from the CAF. Additionally, one inter-confederation play-off slot will be reserved for a team from the CAF. This play-off slot means that one CAF team will have the opportunity to compete against teams from other confederations for a chance to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
When and where is the draw?
Thursday 13 July, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, at 1700 CET.
The qualification process will involve CAF teams competing against each other to secure one of the nine available slots, while one team will be selected to represent the CAF in the inter-confederation play-offs. The ultimate goal for the CAF teams is to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and showcase their talent on the global stage.
FIFA World Cup 2026 Africa Qualifying Groups Draw
Pot One: Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire
Pot Two: Burkina Faso, Ghana, South Africa, Cabo Verde, Congo DR, Guinea, Zambia, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea
Pot Three: Uganda, Benin, Mauritania, Kenya, Congo, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia, Angola
Pot Four: Mozambique, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Malawi, Libya
Pot Five: Niger, Comoros, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Botswana, Liberia
Pot Six: Lesotho, South Sudan, Mauritius, Chad, São Tomé and Príncipe, Djibouti, Seychelles, Eritrea, Somalia
How does qualifying work?
1. Seeding: The 54 nations of the CAF (African Football Confederation) will be divided into six pots according to their ranking.
- Group Stage Draw: Teams will be divided into nine groups, each group consisting of six teams.
- Round-Robin Format: The nine groups will play in a round-robin format, where each team will play the others in its group.
- Group Winners – The winner of each group will qualify directly for the FIFA 26 World Cup.
2. Knockout Phase: The top four group winners will compete in the knockout phase to determine the CAF representative in the FIFA knockout phase competition.
3. FIFA Playoffs: The FIFA Playoffs will include one team from each of the six FIFA confederations, excluding UEFA, plus one additional team from the host confederation (CONCACAF).
- Selection of teams for the qualifiers: two of the six teams that will participate in the qualifiers will be determined according to the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.
- Play-offs: The teams that advance from the play-offs will face the winners of the first two play-offs involving the four unqualified teams to compete for FIFA World Cup qualification.
This process aims to determine the CAF representative for the FIFA 26 World Cup through a series of group stage, playoff and playoff matches involving teams from various confederations.
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