The qualification phase for the 2014 African Nations Championship was played from November 2012 to August 2013. Qualification was divided into the CAF Regional Zones. Each zone had either two or three teams that qualified for the final tournament in South Africa.[1]
| Zone | Number of participating teams | Number of qualifying teams | Number of teams not entered | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Zone | 4 | 2 | 1 (Egypt) | |
| Zone West A | 6 | 2 | 3 (Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau) | |
| Zone West B | 7 | 3 | 0 | |
| Central Zone | 5 | 3 | 3 (Chad, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé & Príncipe) | |
| Central-East Zone | 8 | 3 | 3 (Djibouti, Somalia, South Sudan) | |
| Southern Zone | 11 (including hosts South Africa) | 3 (including hosts South Africa) | 3 (Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi) | |
| Total | 41 | 16 | 13 |
The two winners of the first round qualify for the final tournament.[2] Algeria withdrew due to poor squad standards.[3] |}
The two preliminary round winners qualify for the first round.
Mali and Senegal receive a bye and advance directly to the first round.[2] |}
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The two winners of the first round qualify for the final tournament.[2] |}
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The preliminary round winner qualify for the first round.
Ghana, Niger, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria and Benin receive a bye and advance directly to the first round.[2] |}
The 3 winners of the first round qualify for the final tournament.[2] Benin withdrew from the tournament for financial reasons.[4] |}
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Nigeria withdrew due to financial constraints on 11 April 2013,[5] but one month later they confirmed their participation.[6]
The preliminary round winner qualify for the first round.
DR Congo, Cameroon and Gabon receive a bye and advance directly to the first round.[2] |}
The two winners of the first round qualify for the final tournament.
The two losers of the first round qualify for the second round.[2] |}
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The winner of the second round qualify for the final tournament.[2] |}
The two preliminary round winners qualify for the first round.
Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania receive a bye and advance directly to the first round.[2] |}
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The 3 winners of the first round qualify for the final tournament.[2] |}
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The two preliminary round winners qualify for the first round.
Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe receive a bye and advance directly to the first round.[2]
Note: Mozambique was not included in the initial draw published by CAF on June 9, 2012,[10] and Seychelles was supposed to also receive a bye and advance directly to the first round, but then Mozambique was included to play a preliminary round against Seychelles, the qualifier taking the spot in the first round which was firstly drawn for Seychelles (vs. Namibia).|}
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The 4 winners of the first round qualify for the second round.[2] |}
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The two winners of the second round qualify for the final tournament, along with hosts South Africa.[2] |}
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| Team | Qualification |
|---|---|
| North Zone | |
| Automatic | |
| Defeated | |
| Zone West A | |
| Defeated | |
| Defeated | |
| Zone West B | |
| Automatic | |
| Defeated | |
| Defeated | |
| Central Zone | |
| Defeated | |
| Defeated | |
| Defeated | |
| Central-East Zone | |
| Defeated | |
| Defeated | |
| Defeated | |
| Southern Zone | |
| Hosts | |
| Defeated | |
| Defeated | |