A total of nine African slots have been guaranteed for the 48-team World Cup due to be staged across the Canada, Mexico and the United States in three years’ time.
The African qualifiers had previously been held in three stages, starting with preliminary rounds featuring the 28 lowest-ranked nations followed by a group stage and then two-legged playoffs to determine the five nations to represent the continent at the World Cup.
Under the new system approved by the CAF Executive Committee in Algerian capital Algiers, all 54 Member Associations will be divided into nine groups in a single qualification stage.
Matches are due to run from November 13 in 2023 to October 14 in 2025, with the winners of each group automatically qualifying for the World Cup.
The four best runners-up will go into a CAF playoff tournament, scheduled to be held in November 2025, with winner advancing to the FIFA playoff tournament, due to be staged in March 2026, that could see Africa secure a 10th slot at the World Cup.
The official draw for the African qualifiers is set to be made on July 12 in Cotonou in Benin – the night before the 45th CAF Ordinary General Assembly is planned to take place.
Morocco became the first African nation to go beyond the quarter-finals of the World Cup following their victory over Portugal at last year’s 32-team tournament in Qatar.
They were defeated by France in the semi-finals before losing to Croatia in the third place playoff.
