Of the 52 nations, only Somalia didn't take part, Cameroon qualified as holders and Tunisia qualified as hosts. Furthermore, Djibouti, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Guinea-Bissau withdrew. The remaining 46 teams then ended up being divided into 7 groups of 4 teams and 6 groups of 3 teams, with the 13 group winners and the best runner-up from the groups containing 4 sides, qualifying for the finals. Qualifying took place between 6 September 2002 and 6 July 2003.