2022 African Nations Championship qualification


The 2022 African Nations Championship qualification was a men's football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2022 African Nations Championship. Only national team players who were playing in their country's own domestic league were eligible to compete in the tournament.
A total of 18 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Algeria which qualified automatically as hosts.

Teams

A total of 42 CAF member national teams entered the qualifying rounds, split into zones according to their regional affiliations. The draw for the qualifying rounds was held on 26 May 2022 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
ZoneSpots Teams entering qualificationDid not enter
Northern Zone
2 spots+
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Western Zone A3 spots
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Western Zone B
3 spots
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Central Zone
3 spots
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Central Eastern Zone3 spots
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Southern Zone3 spots
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;Notes
  • Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.
  • Teams in italics received a bye to the second round in the qualifying draw.
  • : Withdrew after draw

Format

Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still level, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner.

Schedule

The schedule of the qualifying rounds was as follows.

Northern Zone

Algeria qualified as host nation.
After Egypt and Tunisia withdrew before the draw, Libya and Morocco were the only teams entered: therefore, the Zone was scratched and both teams qualified.

Western Zone A

Second round

Winners qualified for 2022 African Nations Championship.

Western Zone B

Second round

Winners qualified for 2022 African Nations Championship.

Central Zone

Winners qualified for 2022 African Nations Championship.

Central Eastern Zone

Second round

Winners qualified for 2022 African Nations Championship.

Southern Zone

Second round

Winners qualified for 2022 African Nations Championship.

Qualified teams

The following 18 teams qualified for the final tournament.
TeamQualifying zoneQualified onPrevious appearances in African Nations Championship[|1]
Northern Zone29 9 20181
Northern Zone4
Northern Zone4
Western Zone A2 9 20222
Western Zone A2 9 20222
Western Zone A3 9 20224
Western Zone B3 9 20223
Western Zone B3 9 20223
Western Zone B4 9 20224
Central Zone4 9 20225
Central Zone4 9 20223
Central Zone4 9 20224
Central Eastern Zone2 9 20222
Central Eastern Zone3 9 20222
Central Eastern Zone3 9 20225
Southern Zone2 9 20220
Southern Zone4 9 20223
Southern Zone4 9 20221

Goalscorers

There were 105 goals scored in 54 matches, for an average of 1.94 goals per match.