CECAFA teams Sudan and Ethiopia have been placed in Group J 2027 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) PAMOJA qualifiers.

In the draw conducted at the Egyptian Football Association headquarters in Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday, the two CECAFA teams were placed alongside Senegal and Mozambique.

The draw was conducted by former African football stars Max-Alain Gradel (Cote d’Ivoire), William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria), Essam El Hadary (Egypt) and Trésor Mputu (DR Congo).

Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania will co-host the tournament from June 19 June to July 17, 2027. Co-hosts will take part in qualifiers but have secured their places as co-hosts, so one team from their pool will join them.

The first matches of the group qualifiers will kick-off in September, 2026.

Group D also has two CECAFA teams Kenya and Eritrea together with South Africa and Guinea. Somalia who are making a return to the group stage of the qualifiers after several years are placed alongside Ivory Coast, Ghana and The Gambia.

The 48 teams that will play in the qualifiers have been placed into 12 groups, with the top two in each pool advancing to the continental finals.

The national team of Kenya will play two International friendly matches against Kyrgyzstan and Palestine next month.

Under the watchful eyes of head coach Benni McCarthy, the Harambee Stars will line up against Palestine on June 3^rd, and three days later face hosts Kyrgyzstan.

The two matches will be played during the June FIFA international window.

The technical bench of the team has today named the squad including five new call-ups; Deon Woodman (Wealdstone FC), Sammy Hena-Kamau (Hull City), Micah Obiero (Wealdstone FC), Sydney Agina (Stoke City) and goalkeeper Caleb Kramer (ADO Den Haag).

Although they are automatic qualifiers as co-hosts of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027, Kenya will also play in the qualifiers that kick-off in September 2026.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Byrne Omondi, Faruk Shikhalo, Caleb Kramer

Defenders: Erick Ouma, Stanley Wilson, Sylvester Owino, Frank Odhiambo, Alphonce Omija, Deon Woodman, Rooney Onyango, Sydney Agina

Midfielders: Richard Odada, Chris Erambo, Clarke Odour, Will Lenkupae, Austine Odhiambo, Zech Obiero

Attackers: Job Ochieng, Mohammed Bajaber, Ben Stanley, Sammy Hena-Kamau, Micah Obiero, Ryan Ogam, Lawrence Okoth

Tanzania have booked a place in the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The Serengeti Boys secured their placed after recoring a second consecutive win at the on-going TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

They opened their campaign with a 3-0 win against Mozambique in Group C few days ago, and followed up with another similar score against Angola on Sunday.

Razaki Mbegelendi gave Tanzania the lead in the first half, while Hassan Kazingo and Sadam Hamis added two second half goals to make sure Serengeti Boys maintained their 100% winning run.

On Saturday CECAFA’s other two teams Uganda and Ethiopia suffered defeats. Uganda lost 1-0 to Cameroon in a Group B match, while Ethiopia fell 2-1 to hosts Morocco in a Group A contest.

Ethiopia and Uganda will return to action in their last group matches on May 19^th against Tunisia and Ivory Coast respectively. Tanzania will play their last Group C match against Mali on May 20^th.

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.

Rukinzo FC have defeated Aigle Noir CS to win the 2026 Burundi President’s Cup.

After a goalless first half, Patrick Mawazo netted the lone goal after 65 minutes in the final played at the Intwari Stadium on Friday.

Aigle Noir CS tried to fight back strongly and missed several scoring opportunities.

The victory ensures Rukinzo FC will now represent Burundi in the 2026/2027 CAF Confederation Cip, while the Primus Premier League champions Aigle Noir CS play in the 2026/2027 CAF Champions League.