Three teams from the CECAFA Zone have registered wins in the second round of the 2028 CAF Women’s Olympic Games qualifiers.

Ethiopia benefited form a Lydia Uzayisenga own goal to edge hosts Rwanda 1-0 in a first leg match played on Wednesday in Kigali.

Kenya humbled Seychelles 11-0 in Nairobi, while Uganda picked a 2-1 win against a star a studded Zambian team in matches played on Thursday.

Valerie Nekesa, Elizabeth Muteshi, Airin Madalina, Mercy Airo and Elizabeth Mideva each netted a brace, while Martha Amunyolete also got her name on the score sheet for the Harambee Starlets.

At the Hamz Stadium in Kampala, the Copper Queens who played in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup took an early lead through Prisca Chilufya after only six minutes.

Chilufya picked a cross from their US based skipper Barbara Banda to put Zambia ahead.

But the home side did not give up and settled down in the midfield before they started dictating the pace of the game.

After several misses in the first half, Agnes Nabukenya leveled matters after 48 minutes. Youngster Sylvia Kabene put Uganda ahead after 57 minutes when she headed from close range to beat the Zambian goalkeeper.

On Friday Tanzania will play away to Botswana.

The winner between Rwanda and Ethiopia will face the winner between Botswana and Tanzania in the third round, while the winner between Seychelles and Kenya will take on the winner between Malawi and Zimbabwe.

The winner between Uganda and Zambia will battle the winner between Mauritius and Ghana in the third round.

Two teams will qualify to represent Africa in Women’s Football at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA.

The CAF Women’s Champions League 2026 will take place November 1-15.

Chaired by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) President, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, the Executive Committee set the dates during a virtual meeting held on October 2^nd.

Kawempe Muslim Ladies from Uganda will represent the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) at the tournament. It will be the first time the Ugandan side features in the competition.

The first edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League will attract eight teams. CAF will announce the hosts nation and the team from the host country.

The teams that have qualified include; AS FAR (Defending champions, Morocco), Mamelodi Sundowns (COSAFA, South Africa), Kawempe Muslim Ladies (CECAFA, Uganda), Lekié FF (UNIFFAC, Cameroon), Edo Queens (WAFC B, Nigeria), USFAS (WAFU A, Mali), FUS Rabat (UNAF, Morocco)

The head coach of Tanzanite Queens, Bakari Nyundo Shime has said his players have got good exposure playing at the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s Wold Cup in Poland.

Tanzania excited the tournament at the group stage after losing all the three Group B matches.

The Tanzanian team suffered a 4-1 defeat to Brazil in the opening match, fell 5-1 to England, and lost 6-0 to Canada in the last group match played on Friday.

Head coach Shime has made it clear that although they found the going very tough and lost all the three group matches, playing at that stage has given his players good exposure.

“Being at the World Cup means a lot for any player and featuring on that stage also means players have got top class exposure which will help them in their further development as players,” explained Shime.

The coach made it clear that qualifying for the World Cup was a big achievement, but playing in the tournament also means a lot for the continoius development of the players.

Tanzanian forward Clara Luvanga has joined Washington Spirit FC in USA.

The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) side announced the signing of the striker on Wednesday. She joins on a four year contract from Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr.

“Clara adds an exciting new dimension to our attack as we head towards the playoffs,” Spirit sporting director James Hocken said in a statement.

Hocken said on the club platform that although Clara is only 21 years, she has demonstrated the ability to score goals in different ways and has the profile to be very successful in the NWSL.

Luvanga who was not part of Tanzania’s squad at the recent CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco was one of the top scorers in the Saudi Arabia Women’s League for the three seasons.

Luvanga lifted the Saudi Women’s Premier League trophy in each of her three seasons at Al Nassr, in addition to a Saudi Women’s Cup win, a Saudi Women’s Super Cup title, and a West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Women’s Clubs Championship. She also won the Golden Boot last season, scoring 24 goals in 14 matches.

Luvanga joins other African players at Washingston Spirit; Monique Ngock (Cameroon), Melissa Bethi (Algeria), Alimata Bélem (Burkina Faso), Gift Monday, Deborah Abiodun (Nigeria), Rosemonde Kouassi (Ivory Coast).