The draws for preliminary and second rounds of FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers were conducted today Saturday 25th July 2015 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

The journey to Russia 2018 will start in October this year and will run up to November 2017, with 851 matches being played within the 32 months.

26 lowest ranked African teams will face each other in the preliminary round on a home and away basis to produce 13 winners, who will join the other 27 teams in the second round. The 40 teams will be paired into 20 home and away series, with the twenty winners proceeding to round three.

Uganda, Rwanda and Sudan, the highest ranked teams in East Africa were given byes in the preliminary round.

The 1st Round Fixtures

1. Mauritius Vs Kenya
2. Tanzania Vs Malawi
3. South Sudan Vs Mauritania
4. São Tomé Principe Vs Ethiopia
5. Somalia Vs Niger
6. Djibouti Vs Swaziland
7. Seychelles Vs Burundi

The 2nd Round

1. Vs Cape Verde
2. Vs Algeria
3. Vs Tunisia
4. Vs Congo Brazzaville
5. Vs Cameroon
6. Vs Nigeria
7. Vs DR Congo

• Togo Vs Uganda
• Sudan Vs Zambia
• Libya Vs Rwanda

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Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com