The African section of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification acts as qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Qatar, for national teams which are members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). A total of 5 slots in the final tournament are available for CAF teams.[1]
A previous proposal to merge the qualification rounds for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations with those for the World Cup was turned down after a CAF meeting on 11 June 2018.[2]
CAF reverted to the format used for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification competition.
First round: 28 teams (ranked 27–54) played home-and-away over two legs. The 14 winners advanced to the second round.
Second round: 40 teams (ranked 1–26 and 14 first-round winners) will be divided into ten groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The ten group winners advance to the third round.
Third round: The ten second round group winners play home-and-away over two legs. The five winners qualify for the World Cup.
