| Tourney Name: | African Nations Championship qualification |
| Year: | 2022 |
| Num Teams: | 42 |
| Confederations: | 1 |
| Matches: | 54 |
| Goals: | 105 |
| Top Scorer: | Samuel Akinbinu Daniel Afriyie |
| Prevseason: | 2020 |
| Nextseason: | 2024 |
The 2022 African Nations Championship qualification was a men's football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2022 African Nations Championship. Only national team players who were playing in their country's own domestic league were eligible to compete in the tournament.
A total of 18 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Algeria which qualified automatically as hosts.
A total of 42 (out of 54) 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 26 May 2022 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
| Zone | Spots (total 18) | width=500 | Teams entering qualification | Did not enter | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Zone (UNAF) | 2 spots+ (hosts) | valign=top | valign=top | |||
| Western Zone A (WAFU-UFOA A) | 3 spots | valign=top | valign=top | |||
| Western Zone B (WAFU-UFOA B) | 3 spots | valign=top | valign=top | |||
| Central Zone (UNIFFAC) | 3 spots | valign=top | valign=top | |||
| Central Eastern Zone (CECAFA) | 3 spots | valign=top | valign=top | |||
| Southern Zone (COSAFA) | 3 spots | valign=top | valign=top |
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 would be applied, and if still level, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (no extra time would be played).[1]
The schedule of the qualifying rounds was as follows.
| Zone / Round | Matchday | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Zone A Western Zone B Central Zone Central Eastern Zone | Southern Zone | ||
| First round | First round | First leg | 22–24 July 2022 |
| Second leg | 26–31 July 2022 | ||
| Second round | Second round | First leg | 26–29 August 2022 |
| Second leg | 2–4 September 2022 | ||
Algeria qualified as host nation.
After Egypt and Tunisia withdrew before the draw, Libya and Morocco were the only teams entered: therefore, the Zone was scratched and both teams qualified.
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Senegal won 4–2 on aggregate.----Sierra Leone won 3–2 on aggregate.----1–1 on aggregate. Guinea-Bissau won 5–3 on penalties.
Winners qualified for 2022 African Nations Championship.
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Ghana won 4–0 on aggregate.
Winners qualified for 2022 African Nations Championship.
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Winners qualified for 2022 African Nations Championship.
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Ethiopia won 5–0 on aggregate.----Tanzania won 3–1 on aggregate.----3–3 on aggregate. Djibouti won 4–2 on penalties.
Winners qualified for 2022 African Nations Championship.
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Angola won 3–0 on aggregate.----South Africa won 1–0 on aggregate.----2–2 on aggregate. Botswana won on away goals rule.---- Madagascar won 4–0 on aggregate.----Malawi advanced on walkover.----Mozambique won 1–0 on aggregate.
Winners qualified for 2022 African Nations Championship.
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The following 18 teams qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualifying zone | Qualified on | data-sort-type="number" | Previous appearances in African Nations Championship1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (hosts) | 1 (2011) | |||
| 4 (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020) | ||||
| 4 (2009, 2014, 2018, 2020) | ||||
| 2 (2009, 2011) | ||||
| 2 (2014, 2018) | ||||
| 4 (2011, 2014, 2016, 2020) | ||||
| 3 (2011, 2016, 2020) | ||||
| 3 (2009, 2011, 2014) | ||||
| 4 (2009, 2011, 2016, 2018) | ||||
| 5 (2009, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2020) | ||||
| 3 (2014, 2018, 2020) | ||||
| 4 (2011, 2016, 2018, 2020) | ||||
| 2 (2011, 2018) | ||||
| 2 (2014, 2016) | ||||
| 5 (2011, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020) | ||||
| 0 (debut) | ||||
| 3 (2011, 2016, 2018) | ||||
| 1 (2014) |
There were 105 goals scored in 54 matches, for an average of 1.94 goals per match.