Algerian Radio
The Algerian national football team will compete in the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)—scheduled to be held in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda—in Group I, according to the results of the draw held this Tuesday at the Egyptian Football Association headquarters in Cairo.
In addition to the Algerian national team, Group I includes the national teams of Zambia, Togo, and Burundi.
The 48 participating teams in the qualifiers were divided into 12 groups of four teams each. The first- and second-placed teams from each group will qualify directly for the finals. A special system will be applied to the groups containing a host country, where only one additional team will qualify alongside the host nation.
The tournament will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, in a first-of-its-kind precedent where three countries host the tournament together. It also marks the return of the Africa Cup of Nations finals to the East African region after a 51-year absence.
The qualifiers will take place over three phases comprising six complete matchdays, spread across the FIFA international break windows. The first and second matchdays will be played during the period extending from September 21 to October 6, 2026. The third and fourth matchdays will be held between November 9 and 17, 2026, while the qualifiers will conclude with the fifth and sixth matchdays from March 22 to 30, 2027.
The qualifiers had already effectively kicked off with the preliminary round, which saw the participation of the lowest-ranked teams on the African continent. The matches were played on a home-and-away basis and resulted in the qualification of South Sudan, Burundi, Somalia, Lesotho, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, joining the 42 highest-ranked teams in the group stage.
The following is the group composition for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers:
Group A: Morocco - Gabon - Niger - Lesotho
Group B: Egypt - Angola - Malawi - South Sudan
Group C: Ivory Coast - Ghana - Gambia - Somalia
Group D: South Africa - Guinea - Kenya - Eritrea
Group E: DR Congo - Equatorial Guinea - Sierra Leone - Zimbabwe
Group F: Burkina Faso - Benin - Mauritania - Central African Republic
Group G: Cameroon - Comoros - Namibia - Congo Brazzaville
Group H: Tunisia - Uganda - Libya - Botswana
Group I: Algeria - Zambia - Togo - Burundi
Group J: Senegal - Mozambique - Sudan - Ethiopia
Group K: Mali - Cape Verde - Rwanda - Liberia
Group L: Nigeria - Madagascar - Tanzania - Guinea-Bissau
