Several members from Member Associations in the CECAFA Zone are attending the 2026 FIFA Executive Football Summits 2026 in Miami, United States.

The Presidents and General Secretaries of Member Associations of Burundi, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda have joined other members from around the world to exchange ideas, strengthen relationships and shape the future of the game.

Among other things the summit is being used as a platform to sensitise Member Associations on key FIFA programmes, including the FIFA Forward programme and the scheduled launch of FIFA Forward 4 in January 2027.

Mattias Grafström, the FIFA Secretary General opened the plenary session by setting out the summit’s dual ambition: a formal programme of sessions covering youth development and strategy, alongside the informal exchange of ideas that has become a hallmark of the event.

FIFA Executive Summit 2026

The FIFA President Gianni Infantino also thanked all members for attending the Summit. “Ten years ago, those of you who are a little bit older maybe remember the Development Programme that FIFA had was granting to every Member Association one million (US dollars) in four years, meaning 250,000 US dollars per year,” said Infantino.

He explained that today with FIFA Forward 3.0, Member Associations receive US$8 million (around two million every year), to invest in competitions, to invest in infrastructure, and to invest in football-related projects.

He also added that the FIFA Series, which was played in a total of 12 different countries in 2026 between the women’s and men’s editions, was an example of how FIFA was helping MAs. Rwanda and Kenya hosted the FIFA Series this year for the men and Women respectively.

Africa’s top male referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan has been selected to officiate the the Union of European Football Associations – UEFA Super Cup final in August, 2026.

“We’re pleased to share that Somali referee Omar Artan will officiate the highly anticipated match between PSG and Aston Villa in Salzburg,” said the statement from UEFA.

The development comes after the Somali referee was selected to officiate at the FIFA World Cup 2026, but was denied entry into US early this week and returned back home.

The European soccer body UEFA said Artan will referee the math on August 12th game between the Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa, the Europa League winner. The game will be in Salzburg, Austria.

The European Soccer body said the decision to appoint Artan to officiate the UEFA Super Cup match has been made in the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently signed between UEFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to encourage cooperation in many areas, including refereeing. “UEFA and CAF are united by a shared commitment to developing football at all levels and promoting the core values of unity, equality and non-discrimination,” said UEFA on their website.

On Wednesday Artan received a hero’s welcome back in Mogadishu, and also met the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

The Harambee Stars of Kenya have settled for a 1-1 draw against Lesotho in an International friendly match played on Thursday in Pretoria, South Africa.

Frank Odhiambo gave Kenya the lead after 14 minutes at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.

The two teams continued to create some decent scoring opportunities, but failed to convert them.

After recess the Lesotho team re-organised themselves and leveled matters through Thabo Makhele. The match ended 1-1 and the two teams will face-off again on June 7^th at the same Stadium.

Ethiopia will also be in action against Malawi on June 6^th at the Addis Ababa Stadium, and the second match to be played after three days.

The other teams from the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda had their scheduled matches in Morocco cancelled due to sanitary and public health considerations.

The teams are using the FIFA Window to play International friendly matches as they prepare ahead of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027 qualifiers.

Gor Mahia FC have been crowned 2025/2026 FKF Premier League champions.

Handled by coach Charles Akonnor, the Gor Mahia side lost their last match 1-0 to Nairobi United at the Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday.

The defeat did not spoil the party as the giants lifted their 22^nd League title and were crowned at the same Stadium. “We are vey happy that after a tough season we emerged champions. I thank the team and management for the efforts,” added coach Akonnor.

Gor Mahia FC completed the League with 69 points from 34 matches played, while second placed AFC Leopards collected 64 points, and Kenya Police FC in third place with 55 points.

K’Ogalo will receive KSh15 million (approximately $116,000) in prize money and return to the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League next season.