The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced that the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup African qualifiers is set to take place on Thursday, July 13, 2023, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. This event will determine the groups for the qualifiers leading up to the World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. All 54 member countries of CAF will participate, resulting in nine groups of six teams each. The group winners will secure automatic qualification for the World Cup. Furthermore, the four best second-placed teams will enter the CAF playoffs, competing for a chance to participate in the Intercontinental playoffs. Africa has been granted nine automatic spots for the World Cup, with an additional place available through the intercontinental playoffs. Zambia, currently ranked 16th in the latest CAF rankings, has been placed in pot 2 for the draw. This means they cannot be drawn against teams from the same pot. The qualifiers will begin in November of this year, with matchdays one and two, and will continue until November 2025. The 2026 World Cup will be a historic event as it will feature 48 countries, making it the largest football tournament in history. CAF has announced that the draw will commence at 15:00 GMT (17:00 CAT). The event will be broadcast live on CAF platforms and various other platforms. Full Pot List: Pot 1: Morocco Senegal Tunisia Algeria Egypt Nigeria Cameroon Mali Ivory Coast Pot 2: Burkina Faso Ghana South Africa Congo DR Guinea Cape Verde Zambia Gabon Equatorial Guinea Pot 3: Uganda Mauritania Benin Kenya Congo Brazzaville Madagascar Guinea-Bissau Namibia Angola Pot 4: Mozambique Gambia Sierra Leone Togo Tanzania Zimbabwe Central Africa Republic Malawi Libya Pot 5: Niger Comoros Sudan Rwanda Burundi Ethiopia Eswatini Liberia Botswana Pot 6: Chad Lesotho South Sudan Mauritius São Tomé and Principe Djibouti Seychelles Eritrea Somalia