2024 African Nations Championship qualification

Qualification for the 2024 African Nations Championship began on 25 October and will conclude on 29 December 2024 to determine the 19 nations, including co-host nations, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, expected to qualify for the final tournament.^[1]

2024 African Nations Championship qualification

Tournament details
Dates	25 October – 29 December 2024
Teams	40 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	14
Goals scored	25 (1.79 per match)
← 2022 2026 → All statistics correct as of 3 November 2024.

Teams

A total of 40 (out of 54) CAF member national teams entered qualification that was split into zones based on their regional affiliations and had its draw held on 9 October 2024 at CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.^[1]

Zone	Spots (total 19)	Teams entering qualification	Did not enter
Northern Zone (UNAF)	3 spots	Libya  Morocco  Tunisia	Algeria  Egypt
Western Zone A (WAFU-UFOA A)	3 spots	Guinea  Guinea-Bissau  Liberia  Mali  Mauritania  Senegal  Sierra Leone	Cape Verde  Gambia
Western Zone B (WAFU-UFOA B)	3 spots	Benin  Burkina Faso  Ghana  Ivory Coast  Niger  Nigeria  Togo
Central Zone (UNIFFAC)	3 spots	Cameroon  Central African Republic  Chad  Congo  DR Congo  Equatorial Guinea	Gabon  São Tomé and Príncipe
Central Eastern Zone (CECAFA)	1 spot +  Kenya,  Tanzania,  Uganda (hosts)	Burundi  Djibouti  Eritrea (W)  Ethiopia  Rwanda  Somalia (W)  South Sudan  Sudan
Southern Zone (COSAFA)	3 spots	Angola  Eswatini  Lesotho  Madagascar  Mozambique  Namibia  Zambia  Zimbabwe	Botswana  Comoros  Malawi  Mauritius  Seychelles  South Africa

Notes

• Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.
• Teams in italics received a bye to the second round in the qualifying draw.
• (W): Withdrew after draw

Format

Qualification ties are played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score is tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still level, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (no extra time would be played).^[2]

Schedule

The schedule of the qualifying rounds is as follows.^[1]

Zone / Round		Matchday	Date
Western Zone A Western Zone B Central Eastern Zone Southern Zone	Central Zone
First round	—	First leg	25–27 October 2024
		Second leg	31 October – 3 November 2024
Second round	First round	First leg	20–22 December 2024
		Second leg	27–29 December 2024

Northern Zone

After Egypt and previous hosts Algeria withdrew before the draw, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia were the only teams entered: therefore, the Zone was scrapped and all three teams qualified automatically.^[3]

Western Zone A

First round

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Sierra Leone	2–3	Liberia	1–2	1–1

Sierra Leone	1–2	Liberia
Kalokoh 22'	Report	Kumeh 3' Kabia 58' (o.g.)

27 October 2024 (2024-10-27)

16:00 UTC±0

Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, Monrovia (Liberia)

Liberia	1–1	Sierra Leone
Kumeh 63'	Report	Dumbuya 22'

1 November 2024 (2024-11-01)

16:00 UTC±0

Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, Monrovia

Liberia won 3–2 on aggregate.

Second round

Winners qualify for the 2024 African Nations Championship.

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Liberia	1	Senegal	Dec	Dec
Mauritania	2	Mali	Dec	Dec
Guinea-Bissau	3	Guinea	Dec	Dec

Liberia	v	Senegal

December 2024 (2024-12)

Senegal	v	Liberia

December 2024 (2024-12)

---

Mauritania	v	Mali

December 2024 (2024-12)

Mali	v	Mauritania

December 2024 (2024-12)

---

Guinea-Bissau	v	Guinea

December 2024 (2024-12)

Guinea	v	Guinea-Bissau

December 2024 (2024-12)

Western Zone B

First round

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Togo	3–1	Benin	2–0	1–1

Togo	2–0	Benin
Abalo 11' Avotor 90+2'	Report

25 October 2024 (2024-10-25)

16:00 UTC±0

Stade de Kégué, Lomé

Referee: Bashir Salisu (Nigeria)

Benin	1–1	Togo
	Report

2 November 2024 (2024-11-02)

17:00 UTC±0

Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (Ivory Coast)

Togo won 3–1 on aggregate.

Second round

Winners qualify for the 2024 African Nations Championship.

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Togo	1	Niger	Dec	Dec
Ivory Coast	2	Burkina Faso	Dec	Dec
Ghana	3	Nigeria	Dec	Dec

Togo	v	Niger

December 2024 (2024-12)

Niger	v	Togo

December 2024 (2024-12)

---

Ivory Coast	v	Burkina Faso

December 2024 (2024-12)

Burkina Faso	v	Ivory Coast

December 2024 (2024-12)

---

Ghana	v	Nigeria

December 2024 (2024-12)

Nigeria	v	Ghana

December 2024 (2024-12)

Central Zone

Winners qualify for the 2024 African Nations Championship.

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Congo	1	Equatorial Guinea	Dec	Dec
Central African Republic	2	Cameroon	Dec	Dec
Chad	3	DR Congo	Dec	Dec

Congo	v	Equatorial Guinea

December 2024 (2024-12)

Equatorial Guinea	v	Congo

December 2024 (2024-12)

---

Central African Republic	v	Cameroon

December 2024 (2024-12)

Cameroon	v	Central African Republic

December 2024 (2024-12)

---

Chad	v	DR Congo

December 2024 (2024-12)

DR Congo	v	Chad

December 2024 (2024-12)

Central Eastern Zone

First round

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Burundi	w/o	Somalia	—	—
Ethiopia	w/o	Eritrea	—	—
Sudan	1–1 (6–5 p)	Tanzania	1–0	0–1
South Sudan	3–1	Kenya	2–0	1–1
Djibouti	1–3	Rwanda	1–0	0–3

Burundi	Cancelled	Somalia
	Report

24 October 2024 (2024-10-24)

Somalia	Cancelled	Burundi
	Report

1 November 2024 (2024-11-01)

Burundi won on walkover and advanced to the second round after Somalia withdrew prior to the first leg due to financial challenges.^[4]

---

Ethiopia	Cancelled	Eritrea
	Report

31 October 2024 (2024-10-31)

Juba National Stadium, Juba (South Sudan)

Eritrea	Cancelled	Ethiopia
	Report

3 November 2024 (2024-11-03)

Juba National Stadium, Juba (South Sudan)

Ethiopia won on walkover and advanced to the second round after Eritrea withdrew prior to the first leg.^[5]

---

Sudan	1–0	Tanzania
Abdelrahman 23'	Report

27 October 2024 (2024-10-27)

21:00 UTC+2

Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Stadium, Nouakchott (Mauritania)

Tanzania	1–0	Sudan
	Report
Penalties
	5–6 Walieldin Khedr Muhamed Abdelrahman Alsamani Alsawi Ali Abdallah Hemedelnil Ramadan Agab Salah Adel

3 November 2024 (2024-11-03)

16:00 UTC+3

Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, Dar es Salaam

1–1 on aggregate. Sudan won 6–5 on penalties.

---

South Sudan	2–0	Kenya
Ezibon 50' Juma 68'	Report

27 October 2024 (2024-10-27)

15:00 UTC+2

Juba National Stadium, Juba

Kenya	1–1	South Sudan
	Report

3 November 2024 (2024-11-03)

16:00 UTC+3

Mandela National Stadium, Kampala (Uganda)

South Sudan won 3–1 on aggregate.

---

Djibouti	1–0	Rwanda
Dadzie 79'	Report

27 October 2024 (2024-10-27)

15:00 UTC+2

Amahoro Stadium, Kigali (Rwanda)

Rwanda	3–0	Djibouti
Muzungu 11', 24' Tuyisenge 90'	Report

31 October 2024 (2024-10-31)

18:00 UTC+2

Amahoro Stadium, Kigali

Rwanda won 3–1 on aggregate.

Second round

Since the three hosts from this region have automatically qualified themselves, only the best performing nation (excluding the hosts) can additionally qualify for the 2024 African Nations Championship.^[1]

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Burundi	1	Uganda	Dec	Dec
Ethiopia	2	Sudan	Dec	Dec
South Sudan	3	Rwanda	Dec	Dec

Burundi	v	Uganda

December 2024 (2024-12)

Uganda	v	Burundi

December 2024 (2024-12)

---

Ethiopia	v	Sudan

December 2024 (2024-12)

Sudan	v	Ethiopia

December 2024 (2024-12)

---

South Sudan	v	Rwanda

December 2024 (2024-12)

Rwanda	v	South Sudan

December 2024 (2024-12)

Southern Zone

First round

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Zimbabwe	0–4	Eswatini	0–3	0–1
Lesotho	1–1 (4–3 p)	Namibia	1–0	0–1

Zimbabwe	0–3	Eswatini
	Report	Magagula 15', 37' Matse 45'

27 October 2024 (2024-10-27)

15:00 UTC+2

Obed Itani Chilume Stadium, Francistown (Botswana)

Eswatini	1–0	Zimbabwe
Magagula 68'	Report

2 November 2024 (2024-11-02)

18:00 UTC+2

Mbombela Stadium, Mbombela (South Africa)

Eswatini won 4–0 on aggregate.

---

Lesotho	1–0	Namibia
Kalake 22'	Report

26 October 2024 (2024-10-26)

18:00 UTC+2

Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein (South Africa)

Namibia	1–0	Lesotho
	Report
Penalties
	3–4

3 November 2024 (2024-11-03)

Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein (South Africa)

1–1 on aggregate. Lesotho won 4–3 on penalties.

Second round

Winners qualify for the 2024 African Nations Championship.

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Eswatini	1	Madagascar	Dec	Dec
Lesotho	2	Angola	Dec	Dec
Mozambique	3	Zambia	Dec	Dec

Eswatini	v	Madagascar

December 2024 (2024-12)

Madagascar	v	Eswatini

December 2024 (2024-12)

---

Lesotho	v	Angola

December 2024 (2024-12)

Angola	v	Lesotho

December 2024 (2024-12)

---

Mozambique	v	Zambia

December 2024 (2024-12)

Zambia	v	Mozambique

December 2024 (2024-12)

Qualified teams

The following 19 teams qualified for the final tournament.

Team	Qualifying zone	Qualified on	Previous appearances in African Nations Championship
Kenya (co-hosts)	Central Eastern Zone	26 September 2024	0 (debut)
Tanzania (co-hosts)		26 September 2024	2 (2009, 2020)
Uganda (co-hosts)		26 September 2024	6 (2011, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022)
Libya	Northern Zone	9 October 2024	5 (2009, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2022)
Morocco		9 October 2024	4 (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020)
Tunisia		9 October 2024	2 (2011, 2016)
TBD	Western Zone A
TBD
TBD
TBD	Western Zone B
TBD
TBD
TBD	Central Zone
TBD
TBD
TBD	Central Eastern Zone
TBD	Southern Zone
TBD
TBD

Notes

• Years in bold indicate a championship in the respective tournament.

References

1. "Road to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania mapped out as TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship 2024 Qualifiers Draw conducted in Cairo". CAFOnline.com. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
2. "Regulations of the CAF African Nations Championship" (PDF). CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
3. "CHAN 2024: Ghana to face Nigeria in qualifier for finals in East Africa". BBC Sport. 9 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
4. "Somalia pull out of CHAN 2025 qualifiers". cecafaonline.com. CECAFA. 26 October 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
5. "Eritrea withdraws from the CHAN 2024 qualifiers". eyeradio.org. 26 October 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.