Super Eagles to discover AFCON 2027Q foes as Troost-Ekong lands major CAF role

Former Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has been chosen by the Confederation of African Football to serve as one of the official draw assistants for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying draw, Afrik-Foot reports.

The ceremony will take place on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association in Cairo ahead of the qualification campaign for the biggest football tournament on the African continent.

Troost-Ekong will work alongside three other respected African football figures; former Ivory Coast winger Max-Alain Gradel, legendary Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El Hadary and Congolese icon Trésor Mputu.

CAF confirmed that the event will be broadcast live on CAF TV and across several social media platforms as African nations prepare for the road to AFCON 2027.

The tournament, officially tagged AFCON PAMOJA 2027, will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. It will be the first time in the history of the competition that three countries will co-host the finals.

A total of 48 countries, including the three hosts, will participate in the qualifiers. CAF stated that the teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four sides each. The top two teams from every group will qualify automatically for the tournament finals.

However, because Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have already secured qualification places as hosts, only one extra nation will qualify from each of their respective groups.

The qualification matches are scheduled to be played during three FIFA international windows between September 2026 and March 2027. Matchdays one and two will hold between September 21 and October 6, 2026, while matchdays three and four are fixed for November 9 to 17, 2026. The final round of fixtures will be played between March 22 and 30, 2027.

Super Eagles await their next AFCON mission

Three-time African champions Nigeria will discover their opponents during Tuesday’s draw as they begin another attempt to win a fourth continental crown.

Nigeria remain one of the most consistent teams in AFCON history despite narrowly missing out on the title in recent editions. The Super Eagles finished runners-up at the 2023 tournament in Ivory Coast after losing 2-1 to the hosts in the final, with Troost-Ekong scoring Nigeria’s goal and later being named Player of the Tournament.

At the 2025 edition in Morocco, the Super Eagles reached the semi-finals before suffering a painful penalty shootout defeat against the hosts. They recovered quickly to defeat Egypt on penalties in the third-place match and secure another bronze medal.

Nigeria also won bronze at AFCON 2019 in Egypt under coach Gernot Rohr after defeating Tunisia 1-0 in the playoff game. Their only disappointing recent campaign came at AFCON 2021 in Cameroon, where they exited in the Round of 16 despite winning all three group-stage matches.

The Super Eagles’ recent AFCON consistency has further strengthened their reputation as one of Africa’s football powerhouses. Nigeria have now reached the semi-finals in three of the last four editions of the tournament, matching Egypt’s record of 17 all-time AFCON semi-final appearances.

The country’s recent AFCON campaigns have also produced major individual achievements. Former striker Odion Ighalo won the Golden Boot at AFCON 2019, while Troost-Ekong earned the Best Player award at AFCON 2023 for his commanding performances in defence and leadership throughout the competition.

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals will run from June 19 to July 17, 2027, with East Africa preparing to welcome the continent for what CAF believes will be one of the most historic editions of the tournament.