The draw for the TotalEergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) CECAFA qualifiers will take place on November 28^th, 2024 in Kampala, Uganda.

Yusuf Mossi, the CECAFA Competitions Director confirmed that the draw will be conducted at the FUFA TV studio in Mengo.

Nine teams have registered to take part in the tournament slated to take place December 14-29^th in Kampala.

Mossi however made it clear that all the nine teams will need to re-confirm their participation before the draw is conducted.

The best two teams in the qualifiers will represent the CECAFA Zone at the final tournament. The teams that have confirmed participation include hosts Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Tanzania.

The teams are expected to arrive in Uganda by December 9^th to carry out the mandatory Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests.

In the last Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) U-17 CECAFA qualifiers held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2022, Somalia beat South Sudan 3-1 in the final.

The Taifa Stars of Tanzania have qualified for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025.

Tanzania sealed their place after defeating Guinea 1-0 in a crucial Group H match played at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday.

Tiafa Stars qualification makes it a hat-trick of teams that have qualified form the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Zone (Tanzania, Sudan and Uganda).

The two teams went into the match with Guinea only needing a draw or win, while the Taifa Stars needed nothing less than victory to qualify for their straight consecutive AFCON 2022 after playing in the last one hosted by Ivory Coast.

After a tight contest that ended goalless in-front of thousands of home fans, Taifa Stars returned and scored through Simon Nsuva after 61 minutes with a well timed header. Guinea who shocked table leaders DR Congo 1-0 a few days ago tried to fight back to level maters, but Taifa Stars defended in numbers.

It was all celebration after the final whistle as Tanzanian celebrated in the Stadium through to the city centres. The win saw Tanzania qualify as second best team with 10 points behind DR Congo who face Ethiopia in the last Group H match to be played later at night today.

Hemed Suleiman Morocco, Tanzania’s head coach was full of joy after the match. ”I am proud of leading the national team to the AFCON,” said a happy coach.

The teams that have so far qualified for the AFCON 2025 include; Tunisia, Comoros, Morocco (hosts), Gabon, Egypt, Nigeria, Benin, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Sudan, Zambia, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Mali, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania.

The President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Dr. Patrice Motsepe will visit Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in December, 2024.

According to CAF, the visit is aimed at assessing the progress and readiness of the stadiums and other infrastructure and facilities for hosting the TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024.

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will host the tournament from February 1-28^th in 2025. It will also be the first time that the CHAN tournament is hosted by three countries.

The CHAN tournament is exclusively for players who compete in their respective national League competitions.

“During his visit to Tanzania, the CAF President will host the CAF Executive Committee,” stated the CAF communication.

The EXCO meeting will also be briefed on progress on preparations for hosting CHAN 2024 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the important pathway to US$1 billion in African Football over the next 8 years which was discussed during the CAF Ordinary General Assembly held in Ethiopia, the joint governance and audit committee investigations on the allegations relating to governance non-compliance in the CAF secretariat and the CAF Awards slated to take place in Morocco on December 16^th, 2024.

The 2024 CHAN tournament will be the eighth edition, and the third time that it is hosted in the CECAFA Zone after Sudan in 2011 and Rwanda in 2016.

Sudan have joined Uganda as the two teams from the CECAFA Zone that have so far qualified for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025.

The Falcons of Jediane qualified for the tournament after playing out to a barren draw against table leaders Angola in a Group F match played at the Benina Martyrs Stadium, Benghazi in Libya on Monday evening.

The draw meant that Sudan finished second with 8 points, while Angola topped with 14 points. Niger who shocked hosts Ghana 2-1 finished third with 7 points, and the Black Stars of Ghana bottom with only 3 points.

“I am very happy to lead Sudan to the AFCON 2025. It has been a lot of hard work despite several challenges because of the political environment in Sudan,” said a happy Sudan coach James Kwesi Appiah.

In another match involving a team from the CECAFA Zone, Rwanda completed the qualifiers on a high with a 2-1 Group D away win against Nigeria in a match played at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.

After a goalless first half, Sameul Chukwueze gave the hosts the lead after 59 minutes, but Ange Mutsinzi and Innocent Nshuti netted for the Amabuvi Stars to make sure they collected maximum points away from home. Nigeria finished top of the Group with 11 points, while Benin who settled for a 0-0 draw away in Libya qualified after finishing second with 8 points, Rwanda also collected 8 points, but had a poor goal difference compared to Benin.

Action continues on Tuesday with six teams from the CECAFA Zone in action with the highlight being the Group H match between Tanzania and Guinea to be played at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam. The Taifa Stars will need an outright win to qualify for AFCON 2025.

The teams that have so far qualified for the AFCON 2025 include; Tunisia, Comoros, Morocco (hosts), Gabon, Egypt, Nigeria, Benin, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Sudan, Zambia, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Mali, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Burkina Faso, South Africa and Uganda.