A total of 24 national teams entered qualification which was held over two rounds. In the preliminary round, 20 nations were drawn in pairs. The ten winners joined the four semifinalists of the 2010 Women's African Football Championship in the first round, where the seven winners qualified for the finals.[2]
The seven first round winners will join the hosts in the finals. Equatorial Guinea was put in Group A as hosts, while Nigeria as winners of 2010 edition was put into Group B. The draw was held on 17 July 2012.[3]
Tiebreakers
If two or more teams in the group stage are tied on points tie-breakers are in order:[4]
Points in head-to-head matches between tied teams
Goal difference in head-to-head matches between tied teams
Goals scored in head-to-head matches between tied teams