The CAF First Round of 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification was contested between 50 CAF members. The 50 teams were divided into 5 pools of 10 teams each. In each pool, the 10 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners advanced to the Final Round. There were 130 goals scored in 50 matches, for an average of 2.6 goals per match.