Africa Cup of Nations 2027: Format, Schedule and Match Analysis

Artificial intelligence analysing football data

The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is the leading competition for African national teams, organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The 2027 edition, expected to be the 36th, will be the first hosted by three countries: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. This page brings together the official information available as of 22 October 2026, looks back at AFCON 2025 in Morocco and explains how Prediction AI analyses an AFCON match. It contains no live tables or results: for the ongoing qualifiers, check cafonline.com.

AFCON 2027: scheduled format and dates

Hosts: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, all qualified automatically. According to CAF, the tournament returns to East Africa for the first time since Ethiopia hosted it in 1976.
Scheduled dates: opening match on Saturday 19 June 2027, final on Saturday 17 July 2027.
Teams and format: 24 national teams at the finals. CAF says the format will be the same as in recent editions. In 2025 that meant six groups of four, with the top two in each group and the four best third-placed teams going through to the round of 16.
Stadiums: venues, the match schedule and kick-off times were still to be confirmed by CAF at the time of writing. Candidate cities include Nairobi, Kampala and Dar es Salaam.

Qualifiers

After a preliminary round played in March 2026 by the lowest-ranked sides, 48 teams, including the three hosts, were drawn into 12 groups of four in Cairo on 19 May 2026. Each group is played home and away over six matchdays. The top two qualify; in the groups of Kenya (D), Uganda (H) and Tanzania (L), only the best team other than the host earns a place.

Matchdays 1 and 2 were played from late September to early October 2026. Matchdays 3 and 4 are scheduled for 9 to 17 November 2026 and matchdays 5 and 6 for 22 to 30 March 2027, so the full list of 24 qualified teams is expected at the end of March 2027. For reference, Côte d'Ivoire are in Group C (with Ghana, the Gambia and Somalia), Senegal in Group J, DR Congo in E, Cameroon in G, Morocco in A, Burkina Faso and Benin in F, and Guinea in D.

Looking further ahead, CAF announced in December 2025 that, after an edition in 2028, AFCON would be held every four years.

AFCON 2025 in Morocco: the review

The 2025 edition was played in Morocco from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026, at 9 stadiums in 6 cities, with 24 teams and 52 matches. Before the last two games it had already produced 120 goals, a record for the competition according to CAF, ahead of the 119 goals of the 2023 edition in Côte d'Ivoire. That works out at 2.4 goals per match over the first 50 matches. Brahim Díaz (Morocco) finished as top scorer with 5 goals, ahead of Mohamed Salah (Egypt) and Victor Osimhen (Nigeria) on 4 each. Nigeria finished third and Egypt fourth.

A disputed final. On 18 January 2026, at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 after extra time on the pitch, thanks to a goal from Pape Gueye (94th minute). In second-half stoppage time, the Senegal players had left the field in protest at a penalty awarded to Morocco after a VAR review, before returning; Brahim Díaz's attempt was saved by Édouard Mendy. On 17 March 2026, the CAF Appeal Board declared that Senegal had forfeited the final and recorded a 3-0 result in Morocco's favour. The Senegalese federation took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which held a hearing in Lausanne on 8 October 2026. As of 22 October 2026 no ruling had been published, so the official honours list for the 2025 edition may still change.

Indicator	AFCON 2025 (Morocco)
Dates	21 December 2025 – 18 January 2026
Teams / matches	24 / 52
Goals before the third-place match and the final	120 (record), or 2.4 per match
Top scorer	Brahim Díaz (Morocco), 5 goals
Final on the pitch	Senegal 1-0 Morocco, after extra time
CAF Appeal Board decision (17 March 2026)	Senegal forfeit, 3-0 to Morocco; appeal pending at CAS

Sources: CAF, English Wikipedia and Al Jazeera; the goals-per-match figure is calculated over the first 50 matches.

What makes an AFCON match distinctive to analyse

National teams, not clubs: players come from very different leagues and only get together for a few days in each international window. Team patterns are less settled than at club level, and a player's club form does not always carry over to his country.
Few competitive matches in common: a national team plays only a handful of games a year, against opponents of very uneven strength. Head-to-head meetings are rare and sometimes old. A run of wins against modest sides carries less weight than a result against an opponent of similar level.
Climate and altitude: candidate cities range from Nairobi, more than 1,500 metres above sea level and cool in July according to the Kenya Meteorological Department, to Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean coast. Conditions can therefore change from one match to the next for the same team.
Schedule and travel: AFCON 2027 will be played in June and July, right after the end of the European club season, whereas AFCON 2025 took place in December and January. Accumulated fatigue and travel across three countries will be part of the context to watch once the schedule is published.
Tournament logic: with the four best third-placed teams going through (2025 format), a draw can be enough on the final group matchday. In the knockout rounds, a draw leads to extra time and then penalties.

How Prediction AI analyses an AFCON match

The analysis works in two steps: a web search first gathers verifiable facts, then the artificial intelligence estimates the probabilities from that file. For a match between national teams, it covers:

The fixture: competition, date, kick-off time, stadium and the side actually playing at home.
Recent form: each team's last five competitive matches, with the sequence of results and goals scored and conceded per match, calculated from the scores found.
Context: known absences (injuries, suspensions), the last five head-to-head meetings and a few facts about what is at stake.
Key players and referee: goals, assists and availability of the top scorers and providers; the referee and his average cards and penalties once appointed, otherwise “not yet appointed”.
Probabilities: win, draw or loss (1X2), over or under 2.5 goals, both teams to score, the most likely scoreline, likely scorers and the probability of more than 4.5 cards.
Three forecasts: from the most cautious to the boldest, each with its probability, together with key factors, risks, the assumptions made, a data-quality rating and the sources consulted.

For national teams, the available facts are often thinner than for clubs: when they are missing, the data-quality rating drops and the analysis spells out the assumptions made. To interpret the figures, read our guide how to read 1X2 probabilities.

FAQ

When and where will AFCON 2027 be played?

In Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. CAF has scheduled the opening match for 19 June 2027 and the final for 17 July 2027; the stadiums are still to be confirmed.

How many teams take part in AFCON 2027?

24 national teams: the three hosts and 21 sides from the qualifiers, whose full list is expected at the end of March 2027.

Who won AFCON 2025?

On the pitch, Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 after extra time. The CAF Appeal Board then awarded the match to Morocco by forfeit (3-0). Senegal appealed to CAS, whose decision was not known as of 22 October 2026.

Does Prediction AI calculate the likely tournament winner?

No. The tool analyses one match at a time and estimates its probabilities; it does not calculate a probability of winning the competition.

About Prediction AI

Prediction AI is a predictive sports analysis platform powered by artificial intelligence. To see how it works and what subscriptions are available, take a look at the Prediction AI plans. Probabilities describe uncertainty: they do not ensure any result.