CAF unveils pots and African legends for AFCON 2027 qualifiers draw

By Lesley Angu

The road to AFCON PAMOJA 2027 officially begins on Tuesday as 48 nations prepare to discover their qualifying fate during the draw ceremony in Cairo, Egypt. CAF has already confirmed the four pots for the draw, with Africa’s biggest football nations set to begin their journey toward the historic tournament to be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Heavyweights including Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia, Cameroon, DR Congo, Mali, South Africa and Burkina Faso headline Pot 1, while Pot 2 features dangerous challengers such as Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea, Gabon, Uganda, Angola, Zambia and Equatorial Guinea. The 48 teams will be split into 12 groups of four, with the top two sides from each group advancing to the finals, although hosts Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are already assured qualification.

PAMOJA 2027 Draw Pots

Adding prestige to the ceremony, CAF has selected four African football icons as draw assistants: William Troost-Ekong, Max-Alain Gradel, Essam El Hadary and Trésor Mputu.

Troost-Ekong arrives as one of the continent’s most relevant active stars after captaining Nigeria to the AFCON final in Côte d’Ivoire and winning the Player of the Tournament award. Former Ivorian captain Max-Alain Gradel, meanwhile, brings winner’s pedigree as part of the Elephants squad that lifted the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Egyptian goalkeeping legend Essam El Hadary adds historic weight to the event, having won an incredible three consecutive AFCON titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010, helping Egypt dominate African football for nearly a decade. The former goalkeeper also became the oldest player ever to feature at a FIFA World Cup when he played at Russia 2018 aged 45.

Completing the quartet is DR Congo icon Trésor Mputu, widely regarded as one of the greatest players in African club football history. The former TP Mazembe playmaker won the CAF Champions League, claimed the African-based Player of the Year award, and helped Mazembe become the first African club to reach the FIFA Club World Cup final in 2010.

With the draw pots now confirmed and African legends set to oversee proceedings, anticipation is building for what promises to be a fascinating start to the qualification race for a historic AFCON set to return to East Africa for the first time in decades.