Each of the 13 group winners qualified, with a 14th place going to the best-placed runner-up from the groups containing four teams, which was Zimbabwe. Hosts Tunisia and holders Cameroon qualified automatically.- Group 1 - Angola, Nigeria, Malawi (Djibouti withdrew)
- Group 2 - Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Ethiopia
- Group 3 - Sudan, Zambia, Benin, Tanzania
- Group 4 - Congo, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Mozambique
- Group 5 - Kenya, Togo, Mauritania, Cape Verde
- Group 6 - Zimbabwe, Mali, Seychelles, Eritrea
- Group 7 - Gabon, Morocco, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone
- Group 8 - Lesotho, Senegal, Gambia (Sao Tome withdrew)
- Group 9 - Libya, DR Congo, Botswana, Swaziland
- Group 10 - Madagascar, Egypt, Mauritius (Guinea Bissau withdrew)
- Group 11 - Cote D'Ivoire, South Africa, Burundi
- Group 12 - Namibia, Algeria, Chad
- Group 13 - Uganda, Ghana, Rwanda
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