Preliminary round: Sao Tome e Principe v Madagascar Comoros Islands v Mauritius Djibouti v South Sudan These ties will be played over two legs in March. The team named first plays at home in the opening leg.
Group A: Senegal, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan, Sao Tome e Principe or Madagascar Group B: Cameroon, Morocco, Malawi, Comoros Islands or Mauritius Group C: Mali, Gabon, Burundi, Djibouti or South Sudan Group D: Algeria, Togo, Benin, Gambia Group E: Nigeria, South Africa, Libya, Seychelles Group F: Ghana, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Kenya Group G: Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Zimbabwe, Liberia Group H: Ivory Coast, Guinea, Central African Republic, Rwanda Group I: Burkina Faso, Angola, Botswana, Mauritania Group J: Tunisia, Egypt, Niger, Swaziland Group K: Zambia, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Namibia, Group L: Cape Verde Islands, Uganda, Tanzania, Lesotho
The group stage starts in June and continues on international match days in March, September, October and November 2018. The winners of each group will join hosts Cameroon in the tournament finals along with the best three runners-up.