The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially released the preliminary round draw for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), marking the first step on the road to the tournament tagged AFCON Pamoja 2027.
The draw has produced six two-legged ties, with the winners advancing to the main qualification rounds as teams across the continent begin their quest to secure a place at the finals, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
According to the fixtures released by CAF, Djibouti will take on South Sudan, while Chad have been paired against Burundi.
Somalia are set to face Mauritius, with Seychelles drawn against Lesotho. Eritrea will battle Eswatini, and São Tomé and Príncipe will square off against Ethiopia in another preliminary tie.
All the encounters will be played over two legs, with aggregate winners progressing to the group stages of the qualifiers.
CAF noted that the preliminary round is designed to streamline the qualification process and give lower-ranked teams an opportunity to compete for a place at Africa’s biggest football showpiece.
With the release of the draw, preparations are expected to intensify as national teams begin early planning for the qualifiers, as the race to AFCON Pamoja 2027 officially gets underway.
 has officially released the preliminary round draw for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations){kind=link}