Djibouti have withdrawn their team from participating in the 2027 TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) CECAFA qualifiers.

“We have received communication from the Djibouti Football Federation indicating that they have withdrawn their team,” says Jean Sseninde, the CECAFA Interim Executive Director.

Djibouti had been drawn alongside Tanzania and Kenya for the Zonal qualifier which takes place October 10-19th in Kigali, Rwanda.

“The Djibouti Football Federation (FDF) regrets to inform you that Djibouti will not be able to participate in the qualifiers for the 2026 CECAFA U-17 AFCON, scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda. This decision stems directly from exceptional circumstances beyond our control,” said a communication from the Djibouti Football Federation (DFF).

Yusuf Mossi, the CECAFA Competitions Manager has made it cleat that after this development, a mini draw will be performed in-order to balance the groups.

“ With this, to complete the Group C that remains with two teams, we will proceed to the mini draw that will allow us to balance the groups and to have three teams in each group. However, we are requesting for your patience until the end of the MRI process,” added Mossi.

The nine remaining teams are expected to complete the MRI tests in Kigali on Wednesday.

The best three teams will qualify to represent the CECAFA Zone at the 2027 TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)

Teams: Rwanda, Sudan, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya

The Uganda Cranes have defeated the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 in an International friendly match played in South Africa on Friday.

Youngster James Bogere gave Uganda the lead after seven minutes at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

DR Congo who featured in the 2026 FIFA World Cup made some changes to their team that won two matches in their 2027 AFCON qualifiers last month.

The DR Congo team fielding new players Ezechiel Banzuzi (RB Leipzig, Germany), Willy Kambwala (Como, Italy), Jordy Makengo (Freiburg, Germany) and Stephy Mavididi (Watford, England) tried to fight back to find goals, but Uganda Cranes defenders stood strong.

Three minutes into the second half Kelvin Boateng increased Uganda’s lead.

The two teams will again face-off on Monday in a second friendly match in South Africa. The two teams are using the friendly matches to test players and also prepare ahead of the more AFCON 2027 qualifying matches slated for November.

DR Congo are top of Group E in the AFCON qualifiers after defeating Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe, while Uganda are also top of Group H after picking a draw away to Tunisia and stopping Libya 1-0 few days ago.

Two teams from the CECAFA Zone Rwanda and Sudan have collected wins in the group stage of the 2027 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The Amavubi saw off Liberia 3-1 in a Group K match played at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali on Friday evening.

Playing in-front of the Football loving President Paul Kagame, Abeddy Biramahire gave the hosts the lead after onlyt two minutes to send the fans cheering.

Joy-Lance Michels netted his first goal in national colours with a second goal after 33 minutes. But the visitors pulled one back through Sylvanus Nimely five minutes later.

Rwanda were awarded a penalty before the interval, and the FK Shabah striker Joy-Lance Micheals made no mistake from the spot. The were no goals in the second half.

In another match played on Friday, in a battle of CECAFA teams  Sudan edged Ethiopia in a Group J match played at the Juba National Stadium in South Sudan. Mohamed Mamoun Eisa netted the lone goal late in the second half.

South Sudan, Somalia and Burundi suffered away defeats in ohter matches played on Friday. South Sudan lost 2-1 to Malawi in Group B tie, while Somalia also lost 2-1 away to The Gambia. Burundi fell 1-0 to Togo in a match played at the Regue Stadium in Lome.

On Thursday Uganda Cranes picked a point away to Tunisia after a 1-1 draw in the Group H match, while Tanzania suffered a 2-0 defeat to Guinea Bissau in a Group L match played at the New Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar.

Kenya will host Eritrea in a Group D match in Nairobi on Saturday.

Sudan are the winners of the 2027 TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) CECAFA qualifiers.

The Sudan team stunned hosts Tanzania in the final played at the Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Thursday evening.

After an explosive 90 minutes that ended goalless, the match went to an extra 30 minutes of play.

Sudan went off the blocks first with Omer Hamd headlining home after 93 minutes.

But the Ngorongoro Boys cheered on by the home fans fought back strongly and leveled matters after 112 minutes through Abdulnassir Abdallah. In the penalty shoot-outs Sudan edged Tanzania 4-3.

It was all celebrations for the Sudan team who also qualified for the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after 13 years of waiting.

“This has been a successful mission for us and I thank my boys for the good job. We qualified for U-20 AFCON and now we have lifted the Cup,” said Sudan’s happy coach Salaheldin Ahmed Nuoreldin Ahmed.

In an earlier play-off match Uganda defeated Burundi 2-0. Derrick Ssozi and Ashraf Kyakuwa netted the goals to guide Uganda to win bronze.

The Zonal qualifiers attracted nine teams; Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, South Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Djibouti.