NEWS
AFCON QUALIFIERS: Tricky home ties for Uganda, Rwanda
Five teams from the Council of East and Central African Football (CECAFA) region will be in action later today in the Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
Regional giants Uganda Cranes will host Burkina Faso in a Group B match at the St. Marys Stadium, Kitende in what promises to be a thriller.
Uganda are second in the group with 7 points, and victory for them against Burkina Faso who lead with 8 points will see them qualify for their third straight AFCON. “We need to focus and to get a good result against Burkina Faso because the game is very important before we even travel to face Malawi next week,” said Uganda Cranes assistant coach Abdallah Mubiru.
The Bright Star of South Sudan who picked their first three points in the 1-0 win against Uganda will host Malawi in another Group B match at the Al Hilal Stadium in Khartoum Sudan. The South Sudan team play all their away matches away from home because the Juba National Stadium is still under renovation.
Rwanda who are bottom of Group F will host second placed Mozambique in Kigali is a game they must win if they hope to turn their campaign round. The Amavubi are riding on the motivation picked from the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) where they reached the quarter final stage.
Cameroon lead Group F with 10 points, while Mozambique and Cape Verde have 4 points each, and Rwanda only 2 points.
Sudan who play away to bottom placed Sao Tome & Principe in Group C will have to be at their best to collect maximum points to brighten their chances of qualification.
The Sudan team are third in the Group with 6 points, but both table leaders Ghana and South Africa are tied on 9 points.
Ethiopia under new coach Wubetu Abate will also be hungry to collect maximum points at home when they host Madagascar in a Group K match. “We have prepared well and we must play with caution and take our chances,” said Abate.
Ethiopia are third in the Group with 6 points, while Ivory Coast and Madagascar have 7 points each, and Niger bottom of the log with 3 points.
Two other teams from the CECAFA region Kenya and Tanzania will be in action on Thursday against Egypt and Equatorial Guinea respectively. On Friday Burundi will host the Central African Republic in a Group E match in Bujumbura.
The media accreditation application window for media interested in covering the CECAFA Elective General Assembly has opened today and will run till February 2nd, 2026.
The CECAFA Elective General Assembly will take place on Saturday, 7th February 2026 in Djibouti.
Media interested in covering the Assembly will need to process their visas to Djibouti.
Successful applicants will be notified and provided with further information in due course.
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Further Enquiries:
CECAFA Communications
The World Football governing body FIFA has included Kenya and Tanzania to be part of the 2026 FIFA Series to take place March 23-31st in Rwanda.
On Monday FIFA announced the 48 teams to take part in the 2026 FIFA Series during the during international match windows in March and April.
The 2026 edition will feature 48 teams divided into 12 groups, including nine men’s groups and three women’s groups, with all six continental confederations represented.
For the first time Rwanda will host the Series and have been placed in Group A alongside Estonia, Grenada and Kenya. Group B will have another team from the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA), Tanzania together with Aruba, Liechtenstein and Maco of China.
Among the men’s teams taking part in the FIFA Series 2026, five teams, namely Australia, Cape Verde, Curacao, New Zealand and Uzbekistan, have qualified for this year’s FIFA World Cup.
The men’s groups will be hosted by Australia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Rwanda and Uzbekistan, with Rwanda hosting two groups.
The women’s groups will be held in Brazil, Cote d’Ivoire and Thailand.
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President, Hussein Mohammed Rashid said he was very happy about the development because Harambee Stars will get the opportunity to play more International matches.
“It is exactly the kind of exposure and competition our national team needs as we continue to grow and raise our standards,” added the FKF President.
Group A: Estonia, Grenada, Kenya, Rwanda
Group B: Aruba, Liechtenstein, Macao of China, Tanzania
Teams from the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Zone Djibouti and South Sudan will face off in the preliminary round of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers.
The draw for the preliminary round of the qualifiers was conducted on January 13th in Rabat, Morocco. Twelve lowly ranked teams as per the FIFA rankings were drawn.
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will host the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027.
Eritrea who also return to the AFCON qualifiers after some years will take on Eswatini, while Ethiopia will battle Sao Tome & Principe. Burundi will also face Chad in the other match, and Somalia take on Mauritius.
According to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the preliminary matches for the qualifiers will be played during the next FIFA International Window, March 25-31 March 2026.
The six winners of the preliminary round ties over two legs will advance to join the other 42 CAF Member Associations in the group stage of the qualifiers.
Preliminary round fixture
Djibouti vs South Sudan
Chad vs Burundi
Somalia vs Mauritius
Seychelles vs Lesotho
Eritrea vs Eswatini
Sao Tome & Principe vs Ethiopia
Young Africans SC have edged Azam FC 5-4 in penalty shoot-outs to win the NMB Mapinduzi Cup 2026.
After a goalless final in normal time in a final played at the Gombani Stadium in Pemba, Zanzibar on January 13th, Young Africans SC proved the better side on spot kicks.
Young Africans SC dominated were a better side on the day, but Azam FC goalkeeper Aishi Manula made several saves including a late penalty by Pacome Zouzoua.
Azam FC, the five time winners also had Cheickna Diakite sent off for a second booking after 73 minutes.
The President of Zanzibar, Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi also graced the final.
To reach the final Azam FC eliminated Simba SC 1-0, while Young Africans SC ejected Singida Black Stars FC by the same margin.
NMB Bank were the sponsors of the the tournament which attracted 10 teams including guest side Uganda Revenue Authority FC.
The competition was organized by the government of Zanzibar and the Zanzibar Football Federation (ZFF).
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