CAF Sets Dates For Nigeria Super Eagles World Cup Qualifiers

Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen — Credit: Iconsport

The Nigeria Super Eagles will begin their FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign in November. Dates for the qualifiers were revealed after the CAF Executive Committee met on Friday morning.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Committee “EXCO” also announced a change in format for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifications.

An EXCO meeting, chaired by President Dr. Patrice Motsepe, was held on Thursday in Algiers, where they discussed the change in format for the African qualifications for the FIFA World Cup 2026 due to the extension of the FIFA World Cup from 32 to 48 teams.

“On the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers, the Executive Committee approved the format, and dates of the Qualifiers. The new format has been adapted in line with FIFA’s expanded FIFA World Cup format and will involve all the 54 Member Associations of CAF who will be divided into nine (9) Groups.”

“Winners of each Group will automatically qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026. The four best runners-up (from the Groups) will play in a CAF Play-Off tournament. The winner (CAF Play-Off tournament) will play in the FIFA Play-off Tournament.”

New CAF WCQ format:

The 54 member associations will be divided into nine groups of six teams each.

Group winners will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The four best runners-up will go to play-offs

Qualifiers will kick off in November 2023. ✅#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/0NmOFPi5BM

— Lorenz Köhler (@Lorenz_KO) May 19, 2023

The FIFA World Cup 2026 African Qualifiers journey will start on 13 November 2023.

MD1 and 2: 13 – 21 November 2023
MD3 and 4: 3 – 11 June 2024
MD5 and 6: 17-25 March 2025
MD7 and 8: 1-9 September 2025
MD9 and 10: 6-14 October 2025

The CAF playoff tournament will take place between the 10 – 18 November 2025.

Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Côte d’Ivoire 2023 Final Draw Date

In the same meeting, the Confederation of African Football discussed the progress in Cote d'Ivoire's TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCOON) preparations. The EXCO informed the Memorandum of Understanding “MoU” that CAF and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation “SAFF” recently signed.

The official draw of the Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023 will take place on Thursday, 12 October 2023, after the AFCON qualification ends.

FIFA World Cup 2026

In a ceremony at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California, on Wednesday, 17 May, FIFA introduced the official brand of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

WE ARE 26 ⚽️🏆#FIFAWorldCup #WeAre26 #WeAreLosAngeles #LosAngeles26 @LASEC | @LAFC | @LAGalaxy | @discoverLA | @SoFiStadium | @FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/alImgiFOHj

— FIFA World Cup 26 Los Angeles™ (@LosAngelesFWC26) May 18, 2023

FIFA announced the 16 cities to host the World Cup 2026 across the USA, Mexico, and Canada. 11 from the USA (Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York / New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle), three from Mexico (Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey), and two Canadian cities (Toronto and Vancouver) will host the Super Eagles and the other teams in the FIFA World Cup 2026.

CAF Women’s Champions League 2023 Host

The Executive Committee also discussed the host for the CAF Women's Champions League 2023. Côte d’Ivoire will officially host the tournament as Morocco withdrew its bid.

“The Executive Committee announced Côte d’Ivoire as the next host country of the CAF Women’s Champions League 2023. The staging of the CAF Women’s Champions League 2023 will enable Côte d’Ivoire to test the facilities that will be used for next year’s TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023.”

CAF hasn’t confirmed the dates yet.