The Uganda Cubs have made a winning start in the 2027 TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) CECAFA qualifiers.

Coach Laryea Kingston’s side humbled Burundi 8-0 in their opening Group B match played on Saturday at the Kigali Pele Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda.

Arnold Kayemba put Uganda ahead with a well headed goal after 19 minutes. Two minutes later he was on the score sheet again giving the Burundi goalkeeper Cedrick Niyukuri not chance from close range.

The Burundi team tried to push forward to try in search of goals, but skipper Elvis Irakoze had his attempts blocked. Arafat Ibanda and and Nicholas Kawooya netted two more goals for the Cubs for the first half to end 4-0.

Substitute Sebastian Fisher got his name on the score sheet after 73 minutes, while Junior Ofoyrworth made it 6-0 for Uganda three minutes later.

The Scotland based Fisher added two more goals to record his first hat-trick on his debut for Uganda.

“I am very happy with the win and the many goals the boys scored. We need to keep focused and prepare for our next match against Ethiopia,” said Uganda’s coach Kingston.

Tanzania was set to face Kenya in a Group C tie, while hosts  Rwanda battle South Sudan in a Group A match in the last match of Day 1.

The 2027 TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) CECAFA qualifiers is set to kick-off on October 10^th at the Kigali Pele Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda.

Nine teams will tussle it out to try and secure the three slots to qualify for the finals next year.

Following the withdrawal of Djibouti, CECAFA conducted a mini draw on Friday night at the Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA) headquarters.

The mini draw saw three teams in Group A all re-drawn to fill one place in Group C. Somalia was drawn to join Tanzania and Kenya in Group C.

“We are happy that finally a mini-draw has been conducted and each of the three groups will have three teams each. The best team in each group with qualify for the semi-final stage, while the best second placed team from any of the three groups will also join in the semis,” said Yusuf Mossi, the CECAFA Competitions Manager.

The opening match of the Zonal qualifier will see Uganda face Burundi in a Group B match (1pm), while the second match will see Tanzania battle Kenya in a Group C tie (4pm).

Hosts Rwanda will face off against South Sudan in a Group A match in the last match of Day 1 at 7pm (local time).

Groups

A: Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan

B: Uganda, Ethiopia, Burundi

C: Tanzania, Somalia, Kenya

Four teams from the CECAFA Zone have improved in the latest FIFA rankings released on October 8^th.

Rwanda have improved by nine places to 119^th in the world with 1156.16 points.

The Amavubi’s recent win against Liberia and Cape Verde in the 2027 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers has seen them climb in ranking. Rwanda also move to fifth place in the CECAFA Zone.

Uganda who remain the best ranked team in the CECAFA Zone improved by two places to 87^th with 1278.26 points, while Burundi also improved by two places to 140^th with 1076.75 points.

Eritrea who collected a draw against Kenya in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers have also improved by three places to 170^th place with 890.97 points.

Kenya who are second in CECAFA dropped to 114^th place, while Tanzania are at 115^th place. Sudan also dropped by one place to 118^th place, while Ethiopia and South Sudan are placed 147^th and 170^th positions respectively. Djibouti are placed 195^th and Somalia 200^th place.

World Champions Spain remain the best ranked team in the world with 2011.57 points, while Argentina are the second.

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