A total of 29 CAF teams entered the competition. The African Zone was allocated 2 places (out of 24) in the final tournament.
Format
There would be four rounds of play:
First Round: 3 teams, Algeria, Cameroon and Ghana, received byes and advanced to the Second Round directly. The remaining 26 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would advance to the Second Round.
Second Round and Third Round: In each of these rounds, the teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would advance to the next round, until there would be 4 teams left.
Final Round: The 4 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would qualify.