The road to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations begins on Thursday, September 24, with Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana meeting in the headline fixture of the opening round of qualifying.
The Group C clash at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké is scheduled for 7:00pm GMT, with both former African champions beginning their campaigns against one another.
The encounter is part of the opening Matchday 1 programme, which features 48 nations divided into 12 groups of four. The first two matchdays will be played between September 24 and October 6, with the group phase continuing later in the year before the final two rounds in March 2027.
Ghana have already arrived in Bouaké ahead of the clash, with Carlos Queiroz preparing the Black Stars for their first competitive assignment of the new qualifying cycle.
Côte d’Ivoire will begin a new phase under returning coach Hervé Renard, who has included eight newcomers in his first squad since taking charge again. The Elephants will also face Somalia in their second Group C fixture before meeting Cameroon in a friendly.
The opening day will also feature several other significant fixtures.
DR Congo will host Equatorial Guinea in Group E at 4:00pm GMT, before Sierra Leone face Zimbabwe in the same group at 7:00pm.
In Group F, Mauritania will welcome the Central African Republic at 4:00pm, while Group G begins with Namibia against Congo at 1:00pm and Cameroon against Comoros at 7:00pm.
Group H will see Libya host Botswana at 4:00pm before Tunisia face Uganda at 7:00pm.
The remaining Matchday 1 fixtures will be played on Friday and Saturday. Egypt host Angola on September 25, while Morocco face Gabon, Senegal meet Mozambique and Algeria take on Zambia. South Africa will host Guinea on September 26.
The qualification race will ultimately determine the teams joining hosts Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda at the 2027 finals. The three hosts are automatically qualified, although they will participate in the qualifying campaign, with an additional team from each of their groups earning a place at the tournament.
The 2027 AFCON will be staged across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from June 19 to July 17, bringing the continent’s premier national-team competition back to East Africa for the first time in more than 50 years.