Qualification
For the 2006 African Cup of Nations, qualification was done through the CAF's qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Whereas only the winner of each group qualified for the World Cup, the top 3 finishers in each of the five qualification groups gained entry into the African Cup of Nations. The exception was qualification group 3, which contained hosts Egypt. Since Egypt qualified for the African Cup automatically as the hosts, the final berth was instead awarded to the fourth-place finishers, Libya.
2006 also marked the first time that the defending champion did not automatically qualify for the finals. Tunisia, 2004's champion, qualified for the Cup of Nations by winning their group in the qualification process.
Read more about this topic: 2006 Africa Cup Of Nations