The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches determined the participating teams for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
A total of 16 teams competed in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Prior to November 2014, it was expected that Morocco would be the host country (and thus be pre-qualified). However, as Morocco missed the 9 November deadline for confirming their willingness to host (because of the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa), Morocco was expelled from the tournament. Equatorial Guinea was chosen as the new host, and despite having played in the qualifiers and been disqualified due to fielding an ineligible player, they now qualified for the tournament automatically by virtue of being the hosts.
The qualifying draw was supposed to take place in Morocco on 10 March 2013 during CAF General Assembly. However, the CAF Executive Committee decided on 8 March 2013 that the qualifying draw would be held on 31 January 2014 in South Africa in line with the 2014 African Nations Championship. However, on 28 January 2014, the draw date was reported to have changed once again. The qualifying draw was held on 27 April 2014 in Cairo, Egypt (with the exception of the preliminary round which was held on 21 February 2014 in Cairo).
A total of 51 teams entered the qualification matches (Djibouti and Somalia did not enter). After the CAF Executive Committee meeting on 24 January 2014, it was decided that the qualifiers shall be played in the format of several qualifying rounds, as well as a group stage with seven groups consisting of four teams each. The two top teams of each group then directly qualify for the finals, along with the best third place team of the seven groups. This was different from the original proposal, which consisted of a preliminary round followed by a group stage with twelve groups of four teams.
The top 21 teams listed in the CAF Ranking shall automatically qualify for the group stage. The seven other teams playing in the group stage shall be determined following the conclusion of the qualifying rounds. The ranking is computed using the teams' results in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finals (weighted by 3) and qualifiers, the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations finals (weighted by 2) and qualifiers (weighted by 0.5), the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations finals, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. If tied on points, the tiebreaker is decided by the results of the latest editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Below are the ranking of the 51 teams that entered the qualification matches:
The schedule of the competition was as follows.
In each of the qualifying rounds, teams were drawn into knock-out ties. Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the sides were level on aggregate after the second leg, the away goals rule was applied, and if still level, the tie proceeded directly to a penalty shoot-out (no extra time was played).
The draw for the preliminary round was held at the CAF Executive Committee on 21 February 2014 at Cairo, Egypt. The four teams ranked 48âÂÂ51 played in this round.
On 30 March 2014, Eritrea withdrew from the preliminary round of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, likely due to a rising number of the Eritrean national team players defecting from Eritrea during away matches.
Mauritania won 3âÂÂ0 on aggregate and advanced to the first round.
South Sudan advanced to the first round after Eritrea, who have a history of their players defecting whilst on international duty, withdrew.
The draw for the first round was held on 27 April 2014 at Cairo, Egypt. The 26 teams ranked 22âÂÂ47 and the two winners of the preliminary round played in this round. Teams ranked 22âÂÂ35 were seeded, and teams ranked 36âÂÂ47 and the two winners of the preliminary round were unseeded.
Lesotho won 2âÂÂ1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
Kenya won 2âÂÂ1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
2âÂÂ2 on aggregate. Uganda won on the away goals rule and advanced to the second round.
Equatorial Guinea won 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate. However, on 3 July 2014, the CAF announced that Equatorial Guinea were disqualified for fielding the ineligible player Thierry Fidjeu in the tie, and as a result, Mauritania advanced to the second round. Equatorial Guinea later qualified for the final tournament as replacement hosts.
Congo won 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
Rwanda won 3âÂÂ0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
Botswana won 1âÂÂ0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
Guinea-Bissau won 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
Sierra Leone won 2âÂÂ1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
Seychelles advanced to the second round after Gambia were suspended from all CAF competitions for two years for deliberately fielding overage players in the 2015 African U-20 Championship qualification match against Liberia.
Benin won 4âÂÂ0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
3âÂÂ3 on aggregate. Malawi won on the away goals rule and advanced to the second round.
Tanzania won 3âÂÂ2 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
Mozambique won 5âÂÂ0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
The draw for the second round was held on 27 April 2014 at Cairo, Egypt. The 14 winners of the first round played in this round.
Lesotho won 1âÂÂ0 on aggregate and advanced to Group C.
Uganda won 3âÂÂ0 on aggregate and advanced to Group E.
2âÂÂ2 on aggregate. Rwanda won the penalty shoot-out. However, on 17 August 2014, the CAF announced that Rwanda were disqualified for fielding the ineligible player Daddy Birori in the tie, as it emerged that Birori had been using a different name and a Congolese passport when playing for his club side, AS Vita. As a result, Congo advanced to Group A.
Botswana won 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate and advanced to Group G.
Sierra Leone advanced to Group D after Seychelles withdrew. Seychelles were forced to forfeit after the Sierra Leone team was barred by the Seychelles immigration authorities from entering the country to play the second leg for fears over the West African Ebola virus epidemic.
1âÂÂ1 on aggregate. Malawi won the penalty shoot-out and advanced to Group B.
Mozambique won 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate and advanced to Group F.
The draw for the group stage was held on 27 April 2014 at Cairo, Egypt. The 21 teams ranked 1âÂÂ21 and the seven winners of the second round played in this round. Teams ranked 1âÂÂ7 were seeded into Pot 1, teams ranked 8âÂÂ14 were seeded into Pot 2, teams ranked 15âÂÂ21 were seeded into Pot 3, and the seven winners of the second round were seeded into Pot 4. The 28 teams were drawn into seven groups of four, with each group containing one team from each pot. Each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group, plus the best third-placed team, qualified for the finals.
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order: