By Victor Kanayo
The Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has revealed that the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier will kick-off on November 13, 2023 and will climax March 2026 with a FIFA tournament play-off.
This was disclosed after a meeting of CAF executive committee, chaired by President Dr Patrice Motsepe, in Algiers, Algeria’s capital.
World Cup Qualifier/AFCON Draw Details
According to a statement from CAF communication department, obtained via its website on Friday, “On the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers, the Executive Committee approved the format, dates of the Qualifiers. The new format has been adapted in line with FIFA’s expanded FIFA World Cup format and will involve all the 54 Member Associations of CAF who will be divided into nine (9) Groups.
“Winners of each Group will automatically qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026. The four best runners-up (from the Groups) will play in a CAF Play-Off tournament. The winner (CAF Play-Off tournament) will play in the FIFA Play-off Tournament.
“The Executive Committee announced that the Official Draw of the FIFA World Cup 2026 African Qualifiers will be on Wednesday 12 July, 2023, in Cotonou, Benin – the night before the 45th CAF Ordinary General Assembly.
“The EXCO announced that the Official Draw of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023 will be conducted on Thursday, 12 October 2023.”
AFCON Already Qualified Teams
2021 winners Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Morocco and Burkina Faso have all qualified, alongside hosts Cote d’ivoire for the tournament which has now been confirmed to start in January 2024.
For group A, Nigeria leads nine points from four matches and will play Sierra Leone in a double header final qualifiers in June 2023 to determine their progression into the tournament.
Women’s Champions League In 2023
On CAF Women’s Champions League in 2023, the continent’s football body announced Cote d’ivoire as the host country.
“The staging of the CAF Women’s Champions League 2023 will enable Côte d’Ivoire to test the facilities that will be used for next year’s TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023.
“The dates will be confirmed in due course,” the statement added.
