A total of 29 (out of 54) CAF member national teams entered the qualifying rounds. The draw was held on 10 May 2021 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. The draw procedures were as follows:[2]
In the preliminary round, the 10 teams were drawn into five ties, with teams divided into four pots based on their geographical zones and those in the same pot drawn to play against each other.
In the first round, the five preliminary round winners and the 19 teams receiving byes to the first round were allocated into twelve ties based on the preliminary round tie numbers, with five preliminary round winners playing against the five teams receiving byes, and the other four preliminary round winners playing against each other.
In the second round, the twelve first round winners were allocated into six ties based on the first round tie numbers.
In the third round, the six second round winners were allocated into three ties based on the second round tie numbers.
Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule was applied, and if still tied, the penalty shoot-out (no extra time) was used to determine the winner.
Kenya
Cameroon
South Africa
Nigeria
Ghana
