CAF Confirms 2026-27 Competitions Calendar, Sets Dates For Major Tournaments

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced significant progress in stabilising its competitions calendar, providing clearer timelines for Member Associations, commercial partners, broadcasters and supporters across the continent.

CAF said the increasingly stable calendar reflects its commitment to strengthening existing competitions while developing new properties that will create additional opportunities at senior and youth levels.

“The progress across these competitions is an important step in CAF’s objective of creating a more stable and predictable African football calendar.”

The TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda 2027 is scheduled to take place from June 19 to July 17, 2027, with qualification set to begin in September 2026.

CAF also confirmed that South Africa will host the TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup on Sunday, November 8, 2026, with Champions League winners Mamelodi Sundowns facing Confederation Cup holders USM Alger in Tshwane.

The match will kick off at 3 p.m. local time, or 1 p.m. GMT.

On youth football, Ghana will host the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations in February and March 2027, while Morocco will stage the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations in April and May.

Egypt will host the CAF U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2027, which will also serve as the qualifying tournament for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

CAF said it was studying the feasibility of introducing a new CAF U-17 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, with the competition potentially launching next year if the necessary sporting and organisational requirements are met.

“The proposed tournament would further strengthen CAF’s investment in women’s football and create another important competitive pathway for young female players across the continent.”

Morocco will host the Futsal Africa Cup of Nations from October 12 to 21, 2026, while Senegal will stage the CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations in November.

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CAF also disclosed that work had advanced on the proposed African Nations League, with its format discussed by the CAF Executive Committee.

“The project forms part of CAF’s broader strategy to create more meaningful and commercially attractive international football for Member Associations.”

At club level, the preliminary-round draws for the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup 2026/27 have been completed.

The first preliminary round of both competitions is scheduled for September 4 to 6, with the return legs to take place from September 11 to 13.

CAF said the increased certainty around dates and host countries would allow Member Associations to plan more effectively, provide players with clearer competitive pathways and give broadcasters, sponsors and supporters greater visibility of the continent’s major football events.