AFCON 2027: 3 Countries Have Already Qualified for Tournament
- Three countries have already qualified for AFCON 2027 as co-hosts, with automatic places despite Kenya missing the current 2025/26 tournament
- The ongoing AFCON in Morocco is dominated by West and North African nations, with Senegal facing hosts Morocco in the final and Nigeria beating Egypt in the third-place match
- East Africa will be in focus in 2027, as the expanded 24-team tournament is hosted across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, marking a major moment for the region
Three countries have already secured qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), even though one of them did not take part in the ongoing 2025/26 edition of the tournament.
The current AFCON is taking place in Morocco, where the hosts are set to face Senegal in the final on Sunday, January 18, in Rabat.
Source: Twitter
Senegal stars Sadio Mané, Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gana Gueye will be hoping to guide the West African giants to a second AFCON title, having previously lifted the trophy in 2022.
Morocco, meanwhile, will be chasing a historic triumph on home soil. Led by Paris Saint-Germain right-back Achraf Hakimi, the Atlas Lions are aiming to win the competition for the first time since 1976, backed by a passionate home crowd.
Before the final, attention turned to the third-place playoff on Saturday, January 17, where Mohamed Salah’s Egypt faced disappointment after losing 4–2 to Nigeria in Casablanca.
Watch highlights of Nigeria vs Egypt below:
As anticipated, the latter stages of this year’s tournament have been dominated by West and North African sides.
Nigeria and Senegal have represented West Africa, while Egypt and Morocco have flown the flag for North Africa.
East African teams, however, endured another difficult campaign, continuing a long-standing trend. Ethiopia, winners in 1962, and Sudan, champions in 1970, remain the only East African nations to have ever won the AFCON title.
Despite recent struggles, East African supporters will have plenty to look forward to in 2027, as the tournament will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
The competition will feature 24 teams and will be staged across 12 venues in ten cities between June and July 2027.
Source: AFP
Three countries already qualified for AFCON 2027
The 36th edition of Africa’s flagship football tournament is expected to include heavyweight nations such as Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Morocco.
However, all of those sides will need to navigate the qualification process, which is scheduled to begin in March 2026, in order to secure their places.
In contrast, the three co-host nations - Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda - have automatically qualified and will not take part in the qualifying campaign.
Tanzania and Uganda both competed in the 2025/26 tournament but endured disappointing outings, failing to register a single victory between them.
They finished third and fourth respectively in Group C, behind Nigeria and Tunisia. Kenya, meanwhile, did not qualify for the current edition and has not appeared at the AFCON finals since 2019.
Looking further ahead, the Confederation of African Football has confirmed that from 2028 the AFCON will be held every four years, while a new African Nations League is set to be introduced as an annual competition.
2025 AFCON final preview
Earlier, YEN.com.gh previewed the AFCON 2025 final between Senegal and Morocco, highlighting both teams’ journeys to the championship match.
The report also provided viewers with details on how to watch the final live on TV and online.
Source: YEN.com.gh
