The preliminary round of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament decided three teams which advanced to the group stage of the qualification tournament. The preliminary round consisted of the six lowest-ranked teams among the 51 entrants: Madagascar, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Sudan, Comoros, Djibouti, and Mauritius. The six teams were drawn into three ties, played in home-and-away two-legged format between 22 and 28 March 2017. The three winners advanced to the group stage to join the 45 teams which entered directly.