2020 African Nations Championship qualification
The 2020 African Nations Championship qualification was a men's football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2020 African Nations Championship. Only national team players who are playing in their country's own domestic league were eligible to compete in the tournament.
A total of 16 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Cameroon which qualified automatically as hosts.
Teams
Originally, a total of 47 CAF member national teams entered the qualifying rounds, split into zones according to their regional affiliations. The draw for the qualifying rounds was held on 30 January 2019 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. A re-draw of the [|Central Eastern Zone] was announced on 3 July 2019, after Ethiopia and Djibouti were included. A re-draw of the [|Central Zone] was also made, after Cameroon were excluded from qualifying. Therefore, a total of 48 teams CAF member national teams entered the qualifying rounds after the re-draws.| Zone | Spots | Teams entering qualification | Did not enter |
| Northern Zone | 2 spots |
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| Western Zone A | 2 spots |
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| Western Zone B | 3 spots |
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| Central Zone | 2 spots + ' |
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| Central Eastern Zone | 3 spots |
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| Southern Zone | 3 spots |
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;Notes
- Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.
- Teams in italics received a bye to the second round in the qualifying draw.
- ''': Withdrew after draw
Format
Schedule
The schedule of the qualifying rounds was as follows.Northern Zone
Winners qualify for 2020 African Nations Championship.Western Zone A
First round
Second round
Winners qualify for 2020 African Nations Championship.Western Zone B
First round
Second round
Winners qualify for 2020 African Nations Championship.Central Zone
Original draw :- First round: Central African Republic vs Chad.
- Second round: Winner [|1] vs DR Congo, São Tomé and Príncipe vs Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea vs Congo.
First round
Second round
Winners qualify for 2020 African Nations Championship.Central Eastern Zone
Original draw :- First round: Tanzania vs Sudan, Kenya vs Burundi, South Sudan vs Uganda, Somalia vs Rwanda.
- Second round: Winner 2 vs Winner 1, Winner 4 vs Winner 3.
First round
Second round
Winners qualify for 2020 African Nations Championship.Southern Zone
First round
Second round
Third round
Winners qualify for 2020 African Nations Championship.Qualified teams
The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.| Team | Qualifying zone | Qualified on | Previous appearances in African Nations Championship1 |
| Central Zone | 13 4 2019 | 3 | |
| Northern Zone | 3 | ||
| Northern Zone | 2 | ||
| Western Zone A | 3 | ||
| Western Zone A | 2 | ||
| Western Zone B | 0 | ||
| Western Zone B | 2 | ||
| Western Zone B | 2 | ||
| Central Zone | 4 | ||
| Central Zone | 2 | ||
| Central Eastern Zone | 4 | ||
| Central Eastern Zone | 3 | ||
| Central Eastern Zone | 1 | ||
| Southern Zone | 3 | ||
| Southern Zone | 1 | ||
| Southern Zone | 4 |