Just eight months after the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final, the road to Afcon 2027 begins. The 48 sides still in contention play two rounds of qualifying in this extended international window, starting Thursday.

Two more matches follow in November, with groups reaching their denouement with the final two fixtures in March. The top two in nine of the 12 groups will progress to the 24-team finals in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. With the three hosts all guaranteed qualification, there is only one spot on offer in their respective groups.

Several managerial changes have occurred since the last Afcon in Morocco and this year's Fifa World Cup. Herve Renard, the only man to win Afcon with two different nations, returns to Ivory Coast after 11 years. Patrick Vieira takes charge of Senegal, the country of his birth, calling it "an absolute dream".

Other new arrivals include Claude Le Roy with Congo-Brazzaville, Pitso Mosimane with South Africa, and Moin Chaaban with Tunisia. Cape Verde's Humberto Bettencourt steps up after Bubista resigned.