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With an increased allocation of 10 slots for African teams at the tournament hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the continent is gearing up for an intense and extended qualifying campaign.
In a bid to elevate African football to new heights, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has unveiled a revamped format for the qualification process leading up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
With an increased allocation of 10 slots for African teams at the tournament hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the continent is gearing up for an intense and extended qualifying campaign.
Previously, African teams had to navigate through three rounds of qualification, including preliminary matches, group stages, and playoffs.
However, CAF has opted for a streamlined approach this time, employing a single stage of qualification that will span nearly two years.
During their recent extra-ordinary meeting in Algiers, CAF revealed that the qualification process will involve all 54 African nations, divided into nine groups of six teams each.
The group winners will secure automatic qualification for the World Cup, while the four best second-placed teams will enter a playoff stage.
The winner of the playoff will then face a team from CONCACAF for an additional spot in the prestigious tournament.
For last year’s tournament in Qatar, the entire African qualifying process was squashed into a six-month period but for 2026 it will take 23 months before the identity of the nine finalists are known.
The journey to secure a place at the 2026 World Cup will commence in November 2023 and culminate in November 2025.
The qualifiers will kick off in November 2023 before continuing in June next year and there will be three separate windows in March, September and October 2025 to conclude the groups.
Uganda has earmarked the 2026 tournament as a one they will target to reach, and will consider the increased slots as a chance to make history.
No team from the CECAFA region has ever participated in the World Cup, and this new format presents a golden opportunity for the East African nations to break that barrier.
The draw for the nine groups is scheduled to take place in Cotonou, Benin, on July 12, the night before the 45th CAF Ordinary General Assembly.
CAF is expected to seed the teams based on the latest FIFA rankings, ensuring a fair and balanced distribution of talent across the groups.
The 2026 World Cup will have 104 matches instead of the traditional 64 games due to the expanded format.
The final match is slated to take place on July 19, capping off a month-long festival of football in North America.
The new format will also stick to drawing four teams in a group after a proposal for a three-team group was shot down over fears of collusion. However, the number of groups will increase from eight to 12.
Traditionally the top two teams from each group advance to the last 16 but the 2026 edition will also have the eight best third-placed teams moving into the knockout round of 32.
The 32-team World Cup in Qatar last year had a total of 64 matches completed in 29 days. The last time Mexico (1986) and the United States (1994) hosted a World Cup, there were only 24 teams.
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