CECAFA announces six tournaments for 2026 season

The Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) has announced that six competitions will take place in 2026.

Jean Sseninde, the CECAFA Interim Executive Director has said Rwanda and Tanzania will host the six tournaments.

“We are happy to announce that after the bidding process, Rwanda will host four tournaments, and Tanzania two,” said Ssseninde.

The season opening tournament, the CECAFA U-17 Girls Championship will be hosted by Tanzania and will run May 30th to June 14th, 2026.

Tanzania will also host the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 – CECAFA qualifiers to run August 22nd to September 6th.

Sseninde made it clear that Rwanda will host four tournaments on the 2026 calendar.

The CECAFA Kagame Cup that attracts top clubs in the Zone and a few guest sides from other Zones in Africa will take centre stage July 18th to August 9th. The CECAFA Kagame Cup is also used to help teams in the Zone prepare ahead of the 2026/2027 CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup.

Rwanda will also host the CAF African Schools Football Championship – CECAFA qualifier (July 22-25), CAF Women’s Champions League – CECAFA qualifier (August 22 to September 6th), and the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) – CECAFA qualifier (October 10 -25th).

Last year Eritrea was represented by Denden SC at the CAF Women’s Champions League – CECAFA qualifiers held in Nairobi, Kenya.