# 2016 African Nations Championship qualification

The 2016 African Nations Championship qualification was a men's football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2016 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 sixteen teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Rwanda who qualified automatically as hosts.

## Teams

A total of 42 CAF member national teams entered the qualifying rounds, split into zones according to their regional affiliations.
| Zone | Spots | Teams entering qualification | Did not enter |
| Northern Zone | 2 spots | Libya  Morocco  Tunisia | Algeria (disqualified)  Egypt |
| Zone West A | 2 spots | Gambia  Guinea  Guinea-Bissau  Liberia  Mali  Mauritania  Senegal  Sierra Leone | Cape Verde |
| Zone West B | 3 spots | Burkina Faso  Ghana  Ivory Coast  Niger  Nigeria  Togo | Benin |
| Central Zone | 3 spots | Cameroon  Central African Republic  Chad  Congo  DR Congo  Gabon | Equatorial Guinea  São Tomé and Príncipe |
| Central-East Zone | 2 spots + Rwanda (hosts) | Burundi  Djibouti  Ethiopia  Kenya  Sudan  Tanzania  Uganda | Eritrea  Somalia  South Sudan |
| Southern Zone | 3 spots | Angola  Botswana  Comoros  Lesotho  Mauritius  Mozambique  Namibia  Seychelles  South Africa  Swaziland  Zambia  Zimbabwe | Madagascar  Malawi |
| Total | 15 spots + hosts | 42 teams | |

### Notes

* Algeria were excluded by the CAF from participating because of their withdrawal against Libya in the 2014 African Nations Championship qualification.

## Format

In the Northern Zone, teams played each other on a double round-robin basis. The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:
* Number of points obtained in games between the teams concerned;
* Goal difference in games between the teams concerned;
* Goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
* Away goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
* If, after applying criteria 1 to 4 to several teams, two teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the two teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 9 apply;
* Goal difference in all games;
* Goals scored in all games;
* Away goals scored in all games;
* Drawing of lots.
In all other zones, 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).
The top two teams in the Northern Zone and the 13 winners of the first round in all other zones qualified for the final tournament.

## Schedule

The draw was held on 5 April 2015, 16:00 UTC+2, at the CAF Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
The schedule of the qualifying rounds was as follows.
Northern Zone :
| Matchday | Date |
| Matchdays 1–3 (Host: Morocco) | 15–21 June 2015 |
| Matchdays 4–6 (Host: Tunisia) | 19–25 October 2015 |
All other zones :
| Round | Matchday | Date |
| Preliminary round | First leg | 19–21 June 2015 |
| Preliminary round | Second leg | 3–5 July 2015 |
| First round | First leg | 16–18 October 2015 |
| First round | Second leg | 23–25 October 2015 |

## Northern Zone

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Morocco | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 10 | 2016 African Nations Championship |
| 2 | Tunisia | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 | 2016 African Nations Championship |
| 3 | Libya | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 3 | |
Note: Libya played their home matches in Morocco and Tunisia due to security concerns.

## Zone West A
### Preliminary round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Guinea-Bissau | 2–4 | Mali | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| Mauritania | 4–1 | Sierra Leone | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Guinea | 4–2 | Liberia | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Senegal | 4–1 | Gambia | 3–1 | 1–0 |
Note: Guinea and Sierra Leone played their home matches in Mali and Mauritania respectively due to the Ebola outbreak (Sierra Leone home match brought forward by a week).
Mali won 4–2 on aggregate.
Mauritania won 4–1 on aggregate.
Guinea won 4–2 on aggregate.
Senegal won 4–1 on aggregate.

### First round

Winners qualified for 2016 African Nations Championship.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Mali | 3–2 | Mauritania | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Guinea | 3–3 (a) | Senegal | 2–0 | 1–3 |
Note: Guinea played their home match in Mali due to the Ebola outbreak.
Mali won 3–2 on aggregate.
3–3 on aggregate. Guinea won on away goals.

## Zone West B
### First round

Winners qualified for 2016 African Nations Championship.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Ghana | 2–2 (a) | Ivory Coast | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Nigeria | 2–0 | Burkina Faso | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Niger | 3–1 | Togo | 2–0 | 1–1 |
Note: Second leg of Ivory Coast v Ghana delayed by a week due to presidential elections.
2–2 on aggregate. Ivory Coast won on away goals.
Nigeria won 2–0 on aggregate.
Niger won 3–1 on aggregate.

## Central Zone
### First round

Winners qualified for 2016 African Nations Championship.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| DR Congo | w/o | Central African Republic | — | — |
| Cameroon | 1–0 | Congo | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Chad | 1–2 | Gabon | 0–2 | 1–0 |
Note: Central African Republic withdrew. Second leg of Congo v Cameroon postponed to 31 October due to civil unrest.
DR Congo won on walkover.
Cameroon won 1–0 on aggregate.
Gabon won 2–1 on aggregate.

## Central-East Zone

* Rwanda qualified automatically for the final tournament as hosts.
* Sudan received a bye to the first round.

### Preliminary round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Tanzania | 1–4 | Uganda | 0–3 | 1–1 |
| Djibouti | 1–4 | Burundi | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Ethiopia | 2–0 | Kenya | 2–0 | 0–0 |
Uganda won 4–1 on aggregate.
Burundi won 4–1 on aggregate.
Ethiopia won 2–0 on aggregate.

### First round

Winners qualified for 2016 African Nations Championship.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Uganda | 4–0 | Sudan | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| Burundi | 2–3 | Ethiopia | 2–0 | 0–3 |
Uganda won 4–0 on aggregate.
Ethiopia won 3–2 on aggregate.

## Southern Zone
### Preliminary round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Zimbabwe | 2–0 | Comoros | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Lesotho | 1–1 (a) | Botswana | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Namibia | 3–3 (5–6 p) | Zambia | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Mozambique | 9–1 | Seychelles | 5–1 | 4–0 |
| South Africa | 5–0 | Mauritius | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Swaziland | 2–4 | Angola | 2–2 | 0–2 |
Zimbabwe won 2–0 on aggregate.
1–1 on aggregate. Lesotho won on away goals.
3–3 on aggregate. Zambia won on penalties.
Mozambique won 9–1 on aggregate.
South Africa won 5–0 on aggregate.
Angola won 4–2 on aggregate.

### First round

Winners qualified for 2016 African Nations Championship.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Zimbabwe | 4–2 | Lesotho | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Zambia | 4–1 | Mozambique | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| South Africa | 2–3 | Angola | 0–2 | 2–1 |
Zimbabwe won 4–2 on aggregate.
Zambia won 4–1 on aggregate.
Angola won 3–2 on aggregate.

## Qualified teams

The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Zone | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament |
| Morocco | Northern Zone | 22 October 2015 | 1 (2014) |
| Tunisia | Northern Zone | 22 October 2015 | 1 (2011) |
| Mali | Zone West A | 24 October 2015 | 2 (2011, 2014) |
| Guinea | Zone West A | 24 October 2015 | 0 (debut) |
| Ivory Coast | Zone West B | 30 October 2015 | 2 (2009, 2011) |
| Nigeria | Zone West B | 25 October 2015 | 1 (2014) |
| Niger | Zone West B | 25 October 2015 | 1 (2011) |
| DR Congo | Central Zone | 13 October 2015 | 3 (2009, 2011, 2014) |
| Cameroon | Central Zone | 31 October 2015 | 1 (2011) |
| Gabon | Central Zone | 24 October 2015 | 2 (2011, 2014) |
| Rwanda (hosts) | Central-East Zone | 29 January 2011 | 1 (2011) |
| Uganda | Central-East Zone | 25 October 2015 | 2 (2011, 2014) |
| Ethiopia | Central-East Zone | 25 October 2015 | 1 (2014) |
| Zimbabwe | Southern Zone | 25 October 2015 | 3 (2009, 2011, 2014) |
| Zambia | Southern Zone | 25 October 2015 | 1 (2009) |
| Angola | Southern Zone | 24 October 2015 | 1 (2011) |
    $^1$ Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.

## Goalscorers
### 4 goals

* Luís

### 3 goals

* Gelson
* Gatoch Panom
* Farouk Miya
* Winston Kalengo
* Rodreck Mutuma

### 2 goals

* Ary Papel
* Laudit Mavugo
* Abbas Nshimirimana
* Joel Fameyeh
* Sékou Amadou Camara
* Abdoulaye Sissoko
* Taghiyoulla Denna
* Abdelilah Hafidi
* Mohamed Ounajem
* Reinildo
* Benyamin Nenkavu
* Koffi Dan Kowa
* Ibrahima Keita
* Mamadou Niang
* Siphelele Ntshangase
* Saad Bguir
* Erisa Ssekisambu
* Festus Mbewe

### 1 goal

* Dário
* Mateus
* Mpho Kgaswane
* Hassan Bizimana
* Shasir Nahimana
* Ronald Ngah Wandja
* Nassar Ndiguem
* Darar Djama Aboubaker
* Aschalew Girma
* Seyoum Tesfaye
* Rick Martel Allogho Mba
* Richy Mandraut
* Salif Krubally
* Alsény Camara Agogo
* Kilé Bangoura
* Ibrahima Sory Sankhon
* Aboubacar Iyanga Sylla
* Aboubacar Mouctar Sylla
* Malam Fati
* Obetchi
* Koffi Boua
* Ibrahima Sangaré
* Thabiso Brown
* Ralekoti Mokhahlane
* Tsepo Seturumane
* Allison Dweh
* Gobeom Sie Vitalis
* Moayed Al Khritli
* Moussa Bakayoko
* Abdoulaye Diarra
* Boubacar Diarra
* Ismaël Koné
* Aly Abeid
* Boubacar Beyguili
* Mohamed Yali Dellahi
* Mamadou Niass
* Abderrahim Achchakir
* Abdessalam Benjelloun
* Rachid Housni
* Mouhcine Iajour
* Abdeladim Khadrouf
* Abdessamad Lembarki
* Marwane Saâdane
* Diogo
* Gildo
* Momed Hagi
* Isac
* Willy Stephanus
* Idrissa Halidou Garba
* Yaro Bature
* Gbolahan Salami
* Abdoulaye Ba
* Sylvain Badji
* Mouhamad Waliou Ndoye
* Gervais Waye-Hive
* Sallieu Tarawallie
* Thamsanqa Gabuza
* Fagrie Lakay
* Wandisile Letlabika
* Mandla Masango
* Sabelo Ndzinisa
* Tony Tsabedze
* Raphael Bocco
* Gnama Akaté
* Karim Aouadhi
* Ali Machani
* Frank Kalanda
* Kizito Keziron
* Caesar Okhuti
* Conlyde Luchanga
* Spencer Sautu
* Marshall Mudehwe
* Danny Phiri
* Evans Rusike

### Own goal

* Fabrício (playing against South Africa)
* Aly Abeid (playing against Mali)