AFCON 2027 Qualifiers: Côte d’Ivoire vs Ghana Headlines Opening Round

AFCON 2027 Qualifiers: Côte d’Ivoire vs Ghana Headlines Opening Round The road to AFCON 2027 begins with one of African football's biggest rivalries as Côte d’Ivoire hosts Ghana on September 24 in Bouaké The match is part of Group C, which also includes The Gambia and Somalia. With only six group matches, both West African giants will be looking for a strong start. Côte d’Ivoire enters a new era under Hervé Renard who has returned for a second spell as coach and selected several newcomers. Ghana is led by Carlos Queiroz and is attempting to return to AFCON after missing the previous edition. Ghana has also faced injury and availability problems ahead of the opener, adding another challenge for the Black Stars. The wider AFCON qualifying campaign features 48 national teams across 12 groups The 2027 tournament will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from June 19 to July 17, 2027 bringing AFCON back to East Africa for the first time in more than five decades. Other opening matches to watch include Morocco vs Gabon, Egypt vs Angola, DR Congo vs Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon vs Comoros and Nigeria vs Madagascar AfroQast Sports | September 23, 2026