The qualifying campaign for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2027) got underway on Thursday, with countries across the continent beginning their race for a place in next year’s 24-team tournament.
Over the years, several of Africa’s biggest football nations have suffered the disappointment of missing out on major AFCON tournaments. With the qualifiers now underway, those countries will be keen to avoid a repeat and make a strong start to their campaigns as they look to secure their places at the tournament.
Here are five times a major African country has failed to qualify for an AFCON tournament.
Ghana (2025)
One of the biggest shocks in recent years, four-time African champions Ghana failed to qualify for the 2025 AFCON tournament in Morocco.
The Black Stars had already suffered two consecutive group stage exits at the tournament before hitting a new low with their failure to book a spot.
Ghana finished bottom of Group F of qualifying after a dismal campaign where they managed only three points. They finished behind Angola and Sudan who picked up the automatic ticket from the group, while Niger also finished third from the group.
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Ivory Coast (2004)
Ivory Coast’s golden generation endured a major disappointment in 2004, when they failed to qualify for the AFCON tournament in Tunisia.
Despite boasting some of the continent’s biggest names at the time, the Elephants finished second to South Africa in their group.
The three-time champion eventually overcame that setback to qualify for every edition of the AFCON tournament since then, winning gold medal twice and also finishing as runner-up on two occasions.
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Egypt (2012)
Egypt’s absence from the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea represents one of the biggest shocks in African football history.
The Pharaohs entered the qualifiers as Africa’s best teams and on the back of three consecutive titles.
However, poor planning and preparation cost them as they eventually finished bottom of their group which also included Niger, South Africa and Sierra Leone.
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Nigeria (2015)
The Super Eagles failed to defend their AFCON title in 2015 after failing to qualify for the 2015 edition of the tournament. Nigeria had won the 2013 edition in South Africa, marking their third triumph after beating Burkina Faso 1-0 in the final.
However, they were eventually pipped to the automatic qualifying spot by South Africa and DR Congo who finished above them in the standings, bringing an end to their hopes of defending their crown.
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Egypt (2013)
Egypt also failed to qualify for the 2013 AFCON tournament, representing a second straight absence after also missing the 2012 edition as well.
CAF had decided to switch the tournament from even-numbered years to odd-numbers years to avoid clashing with major FIFA events.
Despite this, the Pharaohs still failed to qualify for the tournament after suffering a shock defeat to the Central African Republic in the first round of qualifiers.
