KAMPALA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) has confirmed that ten teams will tussle it out in the TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2026 CECAFA qualifiers.
Ethiopia will host the Zonal qualifiers from November 15 to December 4th, with the best two teams qualifying for the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Yusuf Mossi, the CECAFA Competitions Manager told Xinhua on Monday that this time round several Member Associations have registered their teams for the qualifiers.
"Unlike last year where we had only six teams, we have 10 teams that will take part in the qualifiers," Mossi told Xinhua over telephone.
He explained that having several teams playing in the qualifiers will make the competition more competitive. "This is a pathway to the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations and eventually the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026," explained Mossi.
The Competitions Manager also made it clear that they will have five teams play in each group with the best two qualifying automatically for the semifinal stage.
Uganda is one of the nations that have confirmed participation in the Zonal qualifiers. The other nine teams that will take part in the Zonal qualifiers include Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, Somalia, Djibouti and Kenya. ■
