The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has issued new guidelines on how the best runners-up will be selected in the ongoing African qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, aiming to clear up confusion following team withdrawals and uneven group sizes.
According to CAF, the 54 African countries competing in the qualifiers have been divided into nine groups of six teams each. The winners of each group will automatically qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Meanwhile, the four best runners-up from across all groups will proceed to a centralized continental play-off. The winner from that stage will then represent Africa in the intercontinental play-off tournament.
CAF explained that the new criteria were necessary due to “unexpected circumstances” such as team withdrawals, which have led to some groups having fewer than six teams. In such cases, the confederation stated that results against the bottom-ranked teams or any withdrawn sides will not be counted when comparing runners-up across the groups. “This adjustment ensures fairness and balance in ranking teams competing under unequal group conditions,” CAF clarified in a statement.
The football body further noted that if more than one team withdraws or is disqualified from a particular group, the same number of lowest-ranked teams will be excluded from the calculations. This method, CAF said, is designed to maintain consistency and prevent any team from gaining an advantage due to fewer matches played.
The updated rule has already affected several groups. In Group E, for example, Morocco, Niger, Tanzania, Zambia, and Congo Republic are competing after Eritrea withdrew before the qualifiers began. Similarly, in Group G, Uganda’s Cranes will see Somalia’s results removed from the equation as the lowest-ranked side. The Ugandan team currently sits on 12 points from six games and remains hopeful of advancing to the play-offs.
Among the current top runners-up across all nine groups, Gabon leads with 22 points in Group F, followed by DR Congo with 19 points in Group B, Madagascar with 19 points in Group I, and Cameroon with 18 points in Group D. Other notable contenders include Burkina Faso (18 points, Group A), South Africa (14 points, Group C), Niger (12 points, Group E), and Namibia (15 points, Group H).
CAF emphasized that the clarification was aimed at maintaining integrity in the qualification process, especially as the campaign enters its final stretch. “Our objective is to guarantee that all teams are judged fairly despite the disruptions that have occurred,” the statement added. For Uganda and other aspiring teams, the final qualification matches will determine who secures the vital runners-up positions and keeps their World Cup dreams alive.
