The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially put an end to rumors regarding an expansion of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), confirming that the tournament will feature 24 teams, rather than 28 as recently reported.
Speculation mounted following a mistranslation of statements made by CAF President Patrice Motsepe. His remarks regarding a proposal under discussion were incorrectly framed as an official decision to expand the tournament starting with the next edition.
Some reports claimed a new format would be introduced, featuring 7 groups of 4 teams each, with the top two teams from each group alongside the two best third-placed teams advancing to the knockout stage. However, CAF clarified that this concept has no official backing.
While Motsepe did propose expanding the tournament from 24 to 28 teams, The Guardian reported that the idea failed to secure the necessary approval from CAF’s Executive Committee.
Furthermore, even if the proposal had been accepted, it was intended for implementation starting in 2028 rather than AFCON 2027. CAF confirmed that the current 24-team format will remain in place for the tournament co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Qualification Format and Tournament Dates
The qualification structure further confirms CAF’s stance. CAF announced that 48 nations will participate in the qualifiers, divided into 12 groups of 4 teams each, competing for spots in the 24-team final tournament.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the finals. However, in groups containing the host nations, only one non-host team will secure qualification, as Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda qualify automatically as co-hosts.
AFCON 2027 is scheduled to take place from June 19 to July 17, with the qualification campaign kicking off in September 2026 and continuing through November 2026 and March 2027.
