The 48 teams were divided into twelve groups, with four participants in each. The schedule includes home and away games, giving each participant six opportunities to earn points. The first two rounds will take place between September 24th and October 6th. The final standings will determine which teams will travel to East Africa. There are 21 places up for grabs in addition to the three reserved for the hosts.

In the nine groups that do not include the host countries, the top two teams from each group directly qualify for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. The rule changes in the remaining three groups because Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda have already secured their participation. In these cases, only the highest-ranked team among the other three will secure the available spot in their respective group.

Kenya is in Group D, alongside South Africa, Guinea, and Eritrea. Uganda is in Group H, with Tunisia, Libya, and Botswana. Tanzania is in Group L, where it will face Nigeria, Madagascar, and Guinea-Bissau. The automatic qualification of the hosts makes these three groups particularly challenging.

Guinea-Bissau will therefore have to finish ahead of Nigeria and Madagascar to secure qualification through their group. South Africa, Guinea and Eritrea face the same problem in Kenya's group. The results of their matches against the hosts also count towards the standings and could decide who secures the spot.

After the first two rounds, the competition continues during the international window from November 9th to 17th. The final two rounds will take place between March 22nd and 30th, 2027. The schedule forces federations to prepare for several away games in just a few months and leaves national team coaches with little time for teamwork between official matches.

Namibia and Congo will play the first group stage match on Thursday at 13:00 GMT, which corresponds to 14:00 in Angola. The match is scheduled for Francistown, Botswana. Three hours later, the Democratic Republic of Congo will host Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania will face the Central African Republic, and Libya will play against Botswana. Namibia retains its status as host despite the away match.

At 19 pm GMT, or 20 pm in Angola, the other four matches on Thursday will be played. Ivory Coast hosts Ghana in Bouaké, in a clash between two teams that have already won the Africa Cup of Nations. Cameroon faces Comoros, Sierra Leone meets Zimbabwe, and Tunisia hosts Uganda, one of the three host countries of the final stage.

On Friday, Angola visits Egypt in Cairo at 19 PM GMT, or 20 PM in Angola. Mozambique faces Senegal at 13 PM GMT, corresponding to 15 PM in Maputo, at the Zimpeto National Stadium. The match maintains Senegal as the official host, although it will take place in Mozambican territory due to the unavailability of Senegalese stadiums.

Guinea-Bissau makes its debut against Tanzania at 13:00 GMT, while Cape Verde visits Mali at 19:00. Also on Friday, Morocco hosts Gabon in Rabat and Algeria faces Zambia in Tizi-Ouzou. Nigeria begins its campaign against Madagascar and Niger hosts Lesotho, also on the first matchday.

On Saturday, Kenya will face Eritrea at 13:00 GMT. South Africa will host Guinea three hours later, in a match of direct interest to the Group D standings. These two matches conclude the first round of 24 games distributed across the twelve groups of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Twelve countries will have to move at least one of their home games to venues located abroad. While most cases are related to stadium approval, other circumstances exist. The war in Sudan and the unavailability of Senegal's main stadiums also cause relocations. Host status remains in the calendar for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Mauritania offers an example of the difficulties faced by federations. Their national team will host the Central African Republic at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Thursday. The Nouakchott Olympic Stadium is undergoing renovations that include the installation of a natural grass pitch and seating. The available timeframe does not allow for the completion of the work and the obtaining of the necessary certification.

Namibia begins its campaign away from home, with its match against Congo scheduled for Francistown, Botswana. Sierra Leone hosts Zimbabwe in El Jadida, Morocco. In the second round, Lesotho will have to face Morocco in Bloemfontein, South Africa, despite being the host nation. These changes require federations to reorganize training camps and player itineraries.

The Central African Republic hosts Burkina Faso in Casablanca, while Benin faces Mauritania at the Alassane-Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on September 29th. Eritrea also hosts South Africa in Cairo. These are different trips, with the same competitive consequence: the players lose direct contact with their home crowds when they would otherwise be playing at home.

Senegal's move to Maputo has another explanation. The Senegalese are hosting Mozambique at the Zimpeto National Stadium due to the unavailability of facilities during their preparation for the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar. The change also removes the team's usual home environment, but it should not be confused with cases of stadiums lacking approval.

Playing a home game in another country during the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers alters the preparation even before the match begins. The federation has to negotiate the use of the stadium, organize the team's travel, and ensure accommodation for the players and coaching staff. There are also expenses related to transporting equipment, security, and the services necessary for the match.

The change could also reduce revenue that would be obtained from ticket sales in the home country. A team playing in front of its own fans can gather its audience and take advantage of the usual organizational structures. In a foreign stadium, it will have to find other solutions to promote the match and support the necessary operation.

In sporting terms, the absence of fans weighs differently on each team. The advantage of playing at home includes familiarity with the pitch, the proximity of the supporters, and the possibility of maintaining training camp routines. When the match is moved, the players face an additional journey and may feel less support during the most difficult phases.

Opponents will also have to adapt their plans, because a game considered away from home may take place in a location they know better than the hosts. This circumstance does not predetermine the result, but it alters the conditions stipulated in the draw. Physical preparation, flight schedules, and recovery time become even more important.

Federations facing homologation problems are confronted with a demanding choice: invest in national venues or continue to bear the costs of away matches. The first solution depends on construction, inspections, and deadlines that cannot be resolved with a simple call-up. The second prolongs the costs and keeps national team football away from its fans.

Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda will host the final phase between June 19 and July 17, 2027. This will be the first edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) to be jointly hosted by three countries. The competition will return to East Africa, a region that has not hosted the event since 1976, when Ethiopia organized the tournament. The project is called Pamoja.

The joint organization of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations requires coordinated preparation of stadiums, training facilities, and connections between host cities. The three federations will also have to coordinate the travel of the national teams and the accommodation of fans. The work goes beyond the construction of the sports venues and involves transportation, accommodation, and security services.

This coordination requires decisions to be made well in advance. Despite having already qualified, the hosts are participating in the qualifying rounds. Uganda debuts on Thursday against Tunisia, away from home. Tanzania hosts Guinea-Bissau on Friday and Kenya faces Eritrea on Saturday. The three coaches will have official matches to test solutions and observe the players before the final stage.

The results will continue to count towards determining the opponents. The preparations of the host countries remain under pressure. Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football, acknowledged the difficulties in September and insisted on meeting deadlines. There are still facilities to be completed and logistical decisions that will have to be made before the teams begin arriving in the region for the tournament.

The start of the qualifying rounds highlights two key demands of African football. On the one hand, teams are competing for places in a final 24-team tournament. On the other hand, federations and organizers need to ensure adequate stadiums to host the matches. The quality of the competition will also depend on the conditions provided before the teams take to the field.

Qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations begins with a challenge that will affect several national teams during the first few rounds. The transfer of home matches to other countries forces federations to reorganize travel and highlights the lack of approved stadiums as one of the most visible problems in continental football.

On the pitch, the race will be especially tight in the groups of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, because only one other team from each group will be able to join the hosts in the final stage. Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau also begin campaigns in which the first results could have decisive consequences.

The competition will arrive in East Africa in June of next year. Until then, the national teams will have to secure qualification and the federations will need to offer playing conditions compatible with a tournament that brings together countries from across the continent.