CECAFA Teams Ethiopia and Uganda will take to the field as the 2026 TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) kicks off on Wednesday in Rabat, Morocco.

The competition will be played in a festival-style competition model with 30 matches to be played at the Mohammed VI Football Complex.

The opening match on Wednesday between hosts Morocco and Tunisia, semi-finals and final will be played at the Stade Moulay Hassan in Rabat.

Ethiopia will face a tough test in a Group A match against Egypt in what promises to be a thriller. Benjamin Ziemer, Ethiopia’s head coach has made it clear that it will be great to have a good start in the competition.

“We have prepared well in Ethiopia and a few days in Morocco and the players are ready for the campaign,” said Ziemer, an American born coach.

Dawit Kassaw Yirdaw who was one of the top scorers in the Zonal qualifiers last last year together with Biyam Abrha will be some of the key Ethiopian players to watch.

Uganda who are not new to this stage will also start their campaign today in a Group B encounter against debut making DR Congo.

The Uganda Cubs will go into the match breathing with some confidence after stopping Mozambique 3-1 and Mali 1-0 in two friendly matches played in Casablanca last week.

“We have prepared very well and the team is looking in shape ahead of our first match. Our major focus is to qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup again like the team di last year and later battle for the title,” says Uganda’s head coach Laryea Kingston.

The Uganda Cubs will look to forward Owen Mukisa and instrumental Henry Muhoozi who are expected to play pivotal roles for the team.

The top two teams in each of the four groups earn direct qualification to the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026, while the other two slots are determined via a playoffs. A total of 10 teams will qualify to represent Africa at the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026.

Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia are the teams that qualified to represent the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) at the 2026 AFCON U-17.

May 13^th Fixture

Morocco vs Tunisia (A)

Egypt vs Ethiopia (A)

Cote d’Ivoire vs Cameroon (B)

Uganda vs DR Congo (B)

Aigle Noir Club Sportif are champions of the 2025/2026 Primus Burundi Premier League.

The Makamba based team was crowned last Saturday after their last match that saw them defeat Garage Express FC 1-0.

After 30 matches played Aigle Noir CS finished with 71 points, while Musongati FC came second with 59 points, Flambeau du Centre finished in third place with 56 points.

Aigle Noir CS player Abdi Ineza finished as top scorer with 16 goals.

The three relegated teams include; BG Green Farmers FC, Garage Express FC and Burundi Sport Dynamik.

Aigle Noir CS who are also in the final of the Burundi Cup will now represent Burundi in the 2026/2027 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.

El Merriekh SC Bentiu are the undisputed giants of South Sudan Football in the 2026 season.

A week a goal El Merriekh SC Bentiu emerged champions of the South Sudan Premier League, and today they defeated Al Ghazala 2-1 to lift the South Sudan Cup.

Saleh Ishimwe scored after 32 minutes to give El Merriekh SC Bentiu a 1-0 first half lead at the Juba National Stadium.

After recess Gaetan Masha got his name on the score sheet to make it 2-0 for El merriekh SC Bentiu after 50 minutes. Ayub Khoak pulled a goal back for the Al Ghazala SC team.

Coach Ibrahim Hussein thanked his team for the hard work through out the season. “It has been hard work which has seen the team perform well in the 2026 season,” said the head coach.

The El Merriekh SC Bentiu team received medals and the trophy in a ceremony graced by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Atong Kuol Manyang.

Michael Amin Francis, President of the South Sudan Football Federation (SSFF) and El Merriekh SC Bentiu Chairman Malual Tap Diu also attended the awarding ceremony.

El Merriekh SC Bentiu will now select to either feature in the CAF Champions League or the CAF Confederation Cup in the 2026/2027 season.

The qualification road map for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA (AFCON) 2027 has been released with the first group matches to be played September 21^st, 2026.

Last week the FIFA Council held in Canada approved June 19^th to July 17th, 2027 as the dates for the AFCON 2027 to be hosted jointly by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

After the completion of the preliminary round that saw CECAFA teams; Somalia, Eritrea, Burundi, Ethiopia and South Sudan make it to the group stage, the draw will now be conducted on May 19^th.

A total of 48 teams, including the three Co-hosts, will participate in the qualifiers which will be played across the three FIFA International Windows. The teams will be drawn in 12 groups of four teams, and the top two in each group will qualify for AFCON 2027.

The Matchdays 1 and 2 matches will be played September 21^st to October 6^th, Matchdays 3 and 4 between November 9-17^th, and the Matchdays 5 and 6 between March 22-30, 2027

Teams from the CECAFA Zone that will play in the group qualifiers include; Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia.