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. 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 Note: Libya played their home matches in Morocco and Tunisia due to security concerns. Zone West A Seeded teams Unseeded teams Preliminary round |} 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. |} 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 Seeded teams Unseeded teams First round Winners qualified for 2016 African Nations Championship. |} Note: Second leg of Ivory Coast v Ghana delayed by a week due