AFCON: these countries have never participated

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Foot Africa

·15. Dezember 2025

AFCON: these countries have never participated

AFCON: these nations still absent from the final stage

AFCON: these countries have never participated

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As the 2025 AFCON in Morocco draws near, a persistent reality remains in African football. While the tournament regularly brings together the continent’s football powerhouses, some national teams have yet to experience the thrill of a final stage, despite the numerous editions played over the years.

To this day, ten countries have never taken part in the Africa Cup of Nations. They are Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Lesotho, Somalia, Seychelles, Central African Republic, South Sudan and São Tomé and Príncipe.

Whether due to a lack of infrastructure, institutional instability, or developmental challenges, these nations continue to fight for a breakthrough in qualifying, hoping that one day their name will be written into the continental showdown.