William Troost-Ekong has been handed a major continental role after the Confederation of African Football selected the former Super Eagles captain as one of the official assistants for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying draw.
The ceremony will take place on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association in Cairo as African nations begin preparations for the qualification campaign toward the continent’s biggest football tournament.
William Troost-Ekong will serve as a CAF draw assistant as the Super Eagles prepare to discover their AFCON 2027 qualifying opponents in Cairo.
Troost-Ekong will participate in the draw alongside several prominent African football figures, including former Côte d’Ivoire winger Max-Alain Gradel, legendary Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El Hadary and Congolese icon Trésor Mputu.
CAF confirmed that the draw ceremony will be broadcast live on CAF TV and across its digital platforms.
The tournament, officially branded AFCON PAMOJA 2027, will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the first time in the competition’s history that three countries will co-host the finals.
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A total of 48 nations, including the three host countries, will participate in the qualifiers.
CAF revealed that the teams will be divided into 12 groups of four, with the top two sides from each group qualifying automatically for the tournament.
However, because Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have already secured qualification as hosts, only one additional team will qualify from each of their respective groups.
The qualification campaign will be played across three FIFA international windows between September 2026 and March 2027.
Matchdays one and two are scheduled for September 21 to October 6, 2026, while matchdays three and four will take place between November 9 and 17, 2026. The final round of qualifiers is fixed for March 22 to 30, 2027.
The-Super-Eagles-of-Nigeria
Nigeria will discover their qualifying opponents during Tuesday’s draw as the Super Eagles begin another quest to secure a fourth Africa Cup of Nations title.
Nigeria remain one of the continent’s most consistent sides in AFCON history despite falling short in recent finals.
The Super Eagles finished runners-up at the 2023 tournament in Côte d’Ivoire after losing 2-1 to the hosts in the final, with Troost-Ekong scoring Nigeria’s only goal before later being named Player of the Tournament.
At the 2025 edition in Morocco, Nigeria reached the semi-finals before suffering a painful penalty shootout defeat against the hosts.
They recovered to beat Egypt national football team on penalties in the third-place match to secure another bronze medal.
Nigeria also claimed bronze at AFCON 2019 under Gernot Rohr after defeating Tunisia national football team in the playoff match.
Their only disappointing campaign in recent years came at AFCON 2021 in Cameroon, where the Super Eagles exited in the Round of 16 despite winning all three group-stage matches.
Nigeria’s recent AFCON consistency has further reinforced the country’s reputation as one of Africa’s football powerhouses.
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The Super Eagles have now reached the semi-finals in three of the last four AFCON tournaments, matching the all-time record of 17 semi-final appearances previously achieved by Egypt.
Recent tournaments have also produced major individual honours for Nigerian players.
Odion Ighalo finished as top scorer at AFCON 2019, while Troost-Ekong earned the Best Player award at AFCON 2023 following his commanding performances and leadership throughout the competition.
The AFCON 2027 finals are scheduled to run from June 19 to July 17, 2027, with East Africa preparing to stage what CAF believes could become one of the most historic editions of the tournament.
