The Confederation of African Football has confirmed the African qualification format for the 2026 World Cup to be hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The competition will witness an increase in the number of participating countries from 32 to 48 with Africa having 9+1 representatives.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) in a meeting held in Algiers on May 18, decided the qualifiers would consist of nine groups of six teams.

The top nine teams from each group would secure direct qualification for the FIFA World Cup.

However, a playoff among the four best second-placed teams from the groups has been designed to determine the team that goes through the final playoff with a team from the CONCACAF zone for a chance to secure the tenth spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The qualifiers are expected to hold from November 2023 to November 2025, with the first and second matchdays set to be played in November 2023,

The tournament is the first to be hosted by three countries.