Kenya’s U15s reach World Cup and FIFA Festival Tier A knockout stage

Kenya are the only team from the CECAFA Zone to reach Tier 1 knock stage of the on-going 2026 FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Kenyan team will face Poland on Wednesday in the knock out stage (determines 1-32 places).  After playing five matches Kenya topped Group Z with 11 points.

They defeated Panama 5-1, stopped Chad 3-2 and saw off Malta 6-2. They also settled for 2-2 draws against Niger and North Macedonia.

A win for Kenya on Wednesday will see them face the winner between Colombia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 16.

South Sudan who finished second in Group AD after registering three wins, a draw and one defeat are also through to the knock out round of 32 Tier B where they face Qatar. Tier B will determine the teams that finish in 33-64 positions.

Uganda and Rwanda who finished third in their respective groups will tussle it out in Tier 3 of the knock out stage today to determine teams that finish between 65^th to 96^th positions.

The Ugandan team will face Yemen, while Rwanda take on Vietnam. Tier D of the knock out stage will also see teams from the CECAFA Zone Burundi, Tanzania and Somalia battling to try and secure positions between 97^th to 128^th positions. Burundi will face Togo, while Somalia take o Tanzania.

Sudan, Djibouti and Ethiopia are the other teams from the CECAFA Zone are the other teams playing in the knock out stage of in the different Tiers.

The inaugural FIFA Under-15 World Cup and Festival uses the eight-a-side system, with two 20-minute halves and unlimited substitutions. FIFA created this competition to give players in this age group more opportunities for international experience and development.