Nigeria will battle Madagascar, Tanzania and Guinea-Bissau in the qualifying series for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations after the Super Eagles were placed in Group L.
The draw ceremony took place on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association in Cairo. Former Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong participated in the exercise as one of the draw assistants.
A total of 48 countries will compete in the qualification campaign. The teams were divided into 12 groups, with 24 nations expected to secure places at the tournament.
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will jointly host the competition, which is scheduled to hold from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
Nigeria entered the draw from Pot 1 and received what many observers consider a favourable group.
However, Tanzania’s status as one of the tournament co-hosts means only the group winners will qualify automatically from Group L.
The same arrangement applies to groups that contain any of the host nations, while the top two teams from the other groups will progress to the tournament.
In other notable fixtures from the draw, defending champions Côte d’Ivoire were grouped with Ghana, The Gambia and Somalia in Group C.
Senegal, who won the 2025 AFCON title, will face Mozambique, Sudan and Ethiopia in Group J. Hosts of the 2025 edition, Morocco, were drawn against Gabon, Niger and Lesotho.
The qualification matches will take place during three FIFA international windows.
The opening two rounds of matches are fixed for September 21 to October 6, 2026. Matchdays three and four will follow from November 9 to 17, 2026.
The final round of fixtures is expected to hold between March 22 and March 30, 2027, when the list of qualified teams for the tournament will be completed.
