Nigeria’s Super Eagles will know their group opponents for the African qualifiers of the 2026 FIFA World Cup when the draw holds on 12th July.
The draw will be conducted in Cotonou, Benin Republic on the eve of the 45th CAF Ordinary General Assembly, the body said in a statement on Friday.
According to the statement, Africa will employ a single-stage qualification format for the next finals to be hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026.
The decision ends the three qualification rounds format that has been used in the past, which takes almost two years to complete.
The new format, which was approved by CAF Executive Committee during its meeting in Algiers on Thursday, will see the 54 member-associations divided into nine groups of six teams each.
Games will be played on a round-robin basis and the top team from each group after Match Day 10, will earn an automatic qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Consequently, the best four second-placed teams from across all nine groups will enter into a continental play-off to determine one winner who will then proceed to a second and final play-off which will include six teams from the other different confederations.
The top two of these six will qualify for the 2026 finals to make up the 48 teams.
The qualifiers are scheduled to start in November this year, with matchdays one and two scheduled to hold between 13th and 21st November, while matchdays three and four are billed for June 2024.
The last matchday fixtures are slated for 6th to 14th October.
However, the continental play-off will be staged between 10th and 18th November 2025 at a venue to be communicated later for a possible 10th African slot.
At the FIFA World Cup in Qatar last year, Africa was represented by Morocco, Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, and Tunisia with Nigeria missing out on the tourney for the first time since 2010.
The playoff tournament will involve six teams to decide the final two qualifying teams.
Morocco finished fourth and made history by becoming the first-ever African country to reach the semi-finals of a FIFA World Cup.
