Rwanda and Tanzania will host Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) competitions planned for the 2026 season.
CECAFA Interim Executive Director Jean Sseninde,announced the member associations that won hosting rights for the various tournaments on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.
Tanzania will host the season-opening CECAFA U-17 Girls Championship from Saturday, May 30, to Sunday, June 14, 2026.
Tanzania will also host the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 – CECAFA qualifiers to run from Saturday, August 22 to Sunday, September 6, 2026. Rwanda, which last hosted a CECAFA competition five years ago, will start by hosting the clubs’ tournament, the CECAFA Kagame Cup, from Saturday, July 18 to Sunday, August 9, 2026. The club tournament will also help teams in the zone prepare ahead of the 2026/2027 CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup.
The CAF African Schools Football Championship – CECAFA qualifiers, CAF Women’s Champions League – CECAFA qualifiers, and the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) – CECAFA qualifiers will all be hosted by Rwanda.
Speaking on the calendar of events in the CECAFA region, Jean Sseninde expressed gratitude to member associations that submitted their hosting bids.
“We are very excited and thank all the different member associations who applied to host the different CECAFA competitions,” Sseninde noted.
CECAFA are also engaging sponsors and partners to secure funds to be able to include the CECAFA Beach Soccer Championship and the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup in the 2026 calendar.
CECAFA 2026 competitions
1 CECAFA U-17 Girls Championship May 30 – June 14
2 CECAFA Kagame Cup July 18 – August 9
3 CAF African Schools Football Championship – CECAFA Qualifiers July 22 – 25
4 AF Women’s Champions League – CECAFA Qualifiers August 22 – September 6
5 U-20 AFCON – CECAFA Qualifiers September 12 – 27
6 U-17 AFCON – CECAFA Qualifiers October 10-25
However, the Senior Challenge Cup and Beach Soccer competitions have not been included in the 2026 CECAFA season calendar.
