CAF Africa Schools Football Championship CECAFA Qualifiers Dates Confirmed

The Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) has confirmed the dates for the 2026 CAF Africa Schools Football Championship CECAFA Qualifiers.

The championship, which will be hosted in Kigali, Rwanda, will kick off on September 3 and run until September 5, 2026.

The confirmation was made through CECAFA’s official website as the regional football governing body announced that media accreditation for the championship is now open.

“The media accreditation application process for the CAF African Schools Football Championship, 2026 Kigali, Rwanda, is now open and closes on 31st August 2026 at 12:00 PM noon,” CECAFA announced.

“The tournament runs from 3rd September to 5th September 2026,” the governing body added.

Uganda will be represented by Eastern Giants Amus College in both the boys’ and girls’ categories after they emerged national champions at the USSSA National Championships held in Gulu in July.

The participation marks Amus College’s return to the regional championship after a three-year absence.

Amus College and Royal Giant High School were Uganda’s first representatives at the CECAFA regional qualifiers in 2022. Royal Giant went on to win the boys’ category, while Amus College finished third in the girls’ competition.

Amus College will make history in Kigali as the first Ugandan school to field teams in both the boys’ and girls’ categories at the regional qualifiers.

Uganda’s St Mary’s Kitende are the defending boys’ champions, while Tanzania are the defending girls’ champions. Both teams represented CECAFA at the CAF Africa Schools Football Championship finals in Zimbabwe, where Uganda finished runners-up after losing to Senegal in the final, while Tanzania failed to progress from the group stage.

The Kigali qualifiers will also provide schools with a major financial incentive, with the winners set to pocket USD 100,000, while the first and second runners-up will receive USD 75,000 and USD 50,000, respectively.