AFCON 2027 qualifying begins with Cote d’Ivoire v Ghana among opening-round highlights

The Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifying campaign begins this week, with the first round of matches taking place from Thursday to Saturday.

The tournament’s finalists will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, while teams across the continent begin their bids to reach the finals.

Egypt, the most successful nation in Africa Cup of Nations history, open their campaign at home against Angola. Morocco, runners-up at the last edition, face Gabon in Rabat, while the other finalists, Senegal, start against Mozambique.

The most prominent fixture of the opening round is expected to be the meeting between Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana in Bouake.

The first round schedule is:

13:00 – Namibia v Congo 16:00 – Democratic Republic of the Congo v Equatorial Guinea 16:00 – Mauritania v Central African Republic 16:00 – Libya v Botswana 19:00 – Cote d’Ivoire v Ghana 19:00 – Sierra Leone v Zimbabwe 19:00 – Cameroon v Comoros 19:00 – Tunisia v Uganda

13:00 – Tanzania v Guinea-Bissau 15:00 – Niger v Lesotho 16:00 – Malawi v South Sudan 16:00 – Gambia v Somalia 16:00 – Togo v Burundi 16:00 – Sudan v Ethiopia 16:00 – Rwanda v Liberia 16:00 – Nigeria v Madagascar

19:00 – Morocco v Gabon 19:00 – Egypt v Angola 19:00 – Burkina Faso v Benin 19:00 – Algeria v Zambia 19:00 – Senegal v Mozambique 19:00 – Mali v Cape Verde

13:00 – Kenya v Eritrea 16:00 – South Africa v Guinea