Nigeria’s national football team has been drawn in Group L alongside Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, and co-hosts Tanzania for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The draw ceremony was conducted by the Confederation of African Football in Cairo on Tuesday, officially setting the stage for the qualification campaign for the tournament scheduled to be hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania under the “PAMOJA 2027” initiative.
A total of 48 countries were placed into 12 groups of four teams each, with the top sides progressing to the continental championship, billed to run from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
Nigeria entered the draw as one of the continent’s top-seeded nations following the Super Eagles’ third-place finish at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Group L is expected to attract attention due to the presence of Tanzania, who have already secured automatic qualification as one of the tournament’s hosts. Despite qualifying automatically, CAF regulations require host nations to participate in the qualifiers.
The Super Eagles will now begin preparations for the campaign as they target another successful AFCON qualification run.
Full AFCON 2027 Qualifying Groups
Group A: Morocco, Gabon, Niger Republic, Lesotho
Group B: Egypt, Angola, Malawi, South Sudan
Group C: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Somalia, Gambia
Group D: South Africa, Guinea, Eritrea, Kenya
Group E: DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe
Group F: Burkina Faso, Benin Republic, Mauritania, Central African Republic
Group G: Cameroon, Comoros, Namibia, Congo
Group H: Tunisia, Uganda, Libya, Botswana
Group I: Algeria, Zambia, Togo, Burundi
Group J: Senegal, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Sudan
Group K: Mali, Cape Verde, Rwanda, Liberia
Group L: Nigeria, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Tanzania
CAF has confirmed that qualification matches will be played during multiple FIFA international windows later this year.
The 2027 tournament will also mark the return of the Africa Cup of Nations to East Africa for the first time in decades and the first edition to be jointly hosted by three nations in the region.