AFCON Pamoja 2027 Qualifiers Roll Out Today

The countdown to Africa’s biggest football party is under way, and the opening rounds are almost done. CAF has published the AFCON PAMOJA 2027 qualifiers Matchday 1 and 2 fixtures and kick-off times, covering games from September 24 to October 6, 2026, the first stage of the journey for 48 nations. The qualifiers feature 12 groups of four, played home and away across six matchdays. The finals will be staged in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from June 19 to July 17, 2027, bringing the tournament back to East Africa for the first time in more than five decades.

Heavyweights and headline fixtures

Matchday 1 opened with a West African derby between former champions Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana on September 24. A day later, Morocco hosted Gabon, record seven-time champions Egypt welcomed Angola to Cairo International Stadium, and Algeria faced Zambia at the Stade Hocine Aït Ahmed in Tizi-Ouzou. Elsewhere, Nigeria met Madagascar and Senegal took on Mozambique on September 25. Kenya hosted Eritrea on September 26, while Tunisia played Uganda in Group H.

Round two began on Monday, September 28, with Central African Republic hosting Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea against Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe against DR Congo and Botswana against Tunisia. September 29 was packed: Lesotho hosted Morocco, Burundi faced Algeria at Stade Intwari, Mozambique welcomed Sudan, and Ethiopia hosted Senegal at Bahir Dar National Stadium. East African supporters had plenty to watch too. Uganda v Libya and Madagascar v Tanzania were played on September 29, and Guinea v Kenya followed on October 1.

What is still to come

One Matchday 2 fixture remains: Angola host Malawi on Tuesday, October 6, at 19h00 GMT. All kick-off times in the CAF schedule are in GMT, so fans in Nairobi should add three hours, while those in Lagos add one. The campaign then resumes during the FIFA window from November 9 to 17, 2026, before the final two rounds from March 22 to 30, 2027.

How do teams qualify? The top two sides in groups without a co-host go through. Kenya (Group D), Uganda (Group H) and Tanzania (Group L) are already in as hosts, with the highest-placed team in each of their groups also advancing. That adds a sharper edge for countries in those pools, because only one ticket is left. For fans from Abidjan to Addis Ababa, the message is simple: the road to East Africa runs through every one of these matchdays.