The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially announced dates for the start of the 2026/2027 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup.

According to CAF, the first Preliminary round matches will kick off September 4-6^th (first leg), while the return legs are played September 11-13^th.

The Second preliminary round matches will take place October 16-18^th (first round) and the return matches to be played October 23-25^th.

Group stages are scheduled to be played between November 2026 and January 2027, and the quarterfinals to be played between February 26th and March 7^th, 2027.

The semi-finals will be played between April 9-18^th, while the finals between May 9-31^st, 2027.

Prize money of USD 6 million will be up for grabs for the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League winners, and USD 4 million for the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup champions.

Last season Sudan side Al Hilal reached the quarter final stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League. Kenya’s Nairobi United FC, and Tanzania’s duo of Azam FC and Singida Black Stars FC played in the group stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup.

Giants Young Africans Sports Club are the champions of the 2025/2026 Tanzania NBC Premier League.

Young Africans SC retained the title after defeating JKT Tanzania 3-0 in the final day of the Premier League matches played on Tuesday. They became the first team in Tanzania to win the League title for five straight seasons.

Going into the last deciding fixture, Young Africans SC made it count with goals from Prince Dube, Maxi Nzengeli and Clement Mzize to claim a big win and finish with 75 points ahead of rivals Simba SC with two points less.

Young Africans SC and Simba SC will now represent Tanzania in the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League, while Azam FC and Singida Black Stars FC finished third and fourth respectively play in the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup.

Although he joined the club midway through the season after leaving Vipers SC, Okello quickly established himself as one of Yanga’s most decisive players. The creative midfielder enjoyed a prolific run in front of goal, finishing the campaign with 14 goals from only 24 league appearances.

His outstanding return saw him finish third in the race for the Golden Boot.

Singida Black Stars forward Mossi Nduwumwe was top scorer with 17 goals, while Azam FC’s Feisal Salum came second after scoring 15 goals. Ugandan International who joined Young Africans SC midway through the season finished third with 14 goals.

The President of the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA), Paulos Weldehaimanot Andemariam has graced the Somali Football Federation (SFF) Annual General Assembly.

Andemariam commended SFF for the positive strides made during the Assembly held in Mogadishu on Thursday.

The Annual General Assembly brought Federation executives, regional representatives, club delegates, and key stakeholders to review the past season and set new priorities.

The assembly carried significant regional weight with the attendance of CECAFA President Paulos Weldehaimanot, who delivered a strong message of support for Somalia’s recent progress.

In his remarks, the CECAFA President praised Somalia’s historic breakthrough in Women’s football, noting that the region had long awaited the moment when Somali girls would finally compete in the CECAFA U-17 Women’s Championship. He highlighted the team’s memorable victory over Sudan, describing it as “a door of hope opened for Somali youth.”

He also celebrated Somalia’s rising profile on the global stage through elite referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who was recently honoured as Africa’s Best Referee.

He concluded by affirming that the relationship between CECAFA and the SFF is now “stronger than ever,” and pledged continued regional support for Somalia’s football ambitions.

SFF President Ali Abdi Mohamed expressed pride in the Federation’s achievements over the past year. He noted that Somalia successfully implemented several key projects, including for the first time participation in the CECAFA Women’s Football Tournament, a milestone that marked a new chapter for the women’s game in the country.

Delegates discussed youth development, national team performance, infrastructure needs, and the expansion of women’s football.

KVZ FC will represent Zanzibar in the 2026/2027 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.

The KVZ FC side emerged champions of the 2025/2026 Zanzibar PBZ Premier League giving the army team the ticket to play in Africa’s biggest tournament.

KVZ FC were crowned champions on Friday after finishing with 67 points from 30 matches played, while JKU SC came second with 64 points.

Hussein Ahmada, General Secretary of the Zanzibar Football Federation (ZFF) says they had a successful season. “We thank all the teams and our sponsors PBZ Bank for the constant support of Football,” added Ahmada.

The Zanzibar champions will however start their test of continental Football when they take part in the regional CECAFA Kagame Cup to take place in Rwanda next month.