The Confederation of African Football has announced changes to the format for World Cup qualifiers on the continent.
CAF officials say for the 2022 World Cup, the qualification campaign system will have African teams contesting a final playoff round.
The qualifiers will be divided into three stages. There would be two rounds of knockout ties on either side of league competition.
First the 28 lowest ranked teams on the continent will contest a knockout round over two legs.
Then 14 winners will advance to the group stage which is the next stage of the qualification campaign.
The 14 teams will join the 26 highest ranked teams in a 40-team, 10-group pool phase that will be played over 18 months.
Group winners will then be drawn into five playoff ties over two legs. Winners of these playoffs will then secure qualification for the World Cup.
The first leg is hosted by the lower ranked country with the highest rank team getting the chance to host the final leg.
The 2022 World cup is in Qatar. CAF is yet to announce the date for the draw but it is expected to be at the end of July.
Source: Africafeeds.com
