Harambee Stars in tough Group F for the 2026 FIFA World Cup African Preliminaries Qualifiers

The men’s national football team, Harambee Stars, has been placed in Group F of the 2026 FIFA World Cup African Preliminaries Qualifiers.

The Engin Firat coached-side will fight for the only direct spot in the group against Ivory Coast, Gabon, Gambia, Burundi, and Seychelles

Kenya finished third in Group E of the 2022 CAF qualifiers for the World Cup, their last competitive international engagement before the FIFA suspension was enforced.

Prior to the draw, Kenya was placed in Pot 3 alongside Uganda, Benin, Mauritania, Congo Brazzaville, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia, and Angola.

Back in May this year, CAF announced a new format for the qualifiers of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, following the decision by FIFA to increase Africa’s quota from five to nine direct tickets.

The new format, which was approved by CAF's Executive Committee during a meeting in Algiers, Algeria, will see the 54 Member Associations divided into nine groups of six teams each.

Games will be played on a round-robin basis, and the top team from each group after Match Day 10, will earn an automatic qualification to the 2026 World Cup to be hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Consequently, the best four second-placed teams from across all nine groups will enter into a Continental play-off to determine one winner who will then proceed to a second and final play-off which will include six teams from the other different confederations.

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The top two of these six will qualify for the World Cup to make up the 48 teams.

The qualifiers are scheduled to start in November this year, with Match Day One and Two scheduled for between 13-21 November, while the third and fourth match days are scheduled for June 2024.

The last match day will be in the week of October 6-14 while the Continental play-off will be staged between 10-18 November 2025 at a venue to be communicated later.

Full Draw

Group A: Egypt, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Djibouti

Group B: Senegal, Congo DR, Mauritania, Togo, Sudan, South Sudan

Group C: Nigeria, South Africa, Benin, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Lesotho

Group D: Cameroon, Cape Verde, Angola, Libya, Eswatini, Mauritius

Group E: Morocco, Zambia, Congo, Tanzania, Niger, Eritrea

Group F: Ivory Coast, Gabon, Kenya, Gambia, Burundi, Seychelles

Group G: Algeria, Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique, Botswana, Somalia

Group H: Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Malawi, Liberia, Sao Tome

Group I: Mali, Ghana, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Comoros, Chad