Rwanda Premier League side Rayon Sports will kick start their 2026/2027 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup campaign tonight with a match against Panthere Sportive du Nde’e in Cameroon.

The match is the first preliminary round to take place at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde.

Fresh from winning the regional CECAFA Kgame Cup, Rayon Sport FC will be all out to kick start their campaign on a good note before hosting the Cameroon side in the return leg on September 12^th in Kigali.

Christian Francis Haringingo, the Rayon Sport head coach has made it clear they must go all out for a win. “The four matches we played in the Kagame Cup have also helped us get good match practice and the team is ready,” said the Rayon Sport coach.

Two other teams from the CECAFA Zone Al Alsahil from Sudan will also be in action against Welwalo Adigrat (Ethiopia) in a match to be played at the Kigali Pele Stadium, Rwanda.

On Saturday Zanzibar’s KMKM SC will play away to Al Ahly Tripoli (Libya), while five matches involving CECAFA teams take place on Sunday.

September 4

Panthere Sportive du Nde’e vs Rayon Sports FC

Al Alshahil vs Welwalo Adrigrat

September 5

KMKM SC vs Al Ahly Tripoli

September 6

Mogadishu City vs Kitara FC

Durban City FC vs Rukinzo FC

Al-Ghazala FC vs Singida Black Stars

Al Ahli Madani vs Tusker FC

ZED FC vs ASAS Djibouti Telecom

Uganda’s two teams have made a good start on Day 1 of the on-going 2026 CAF African Schools Football Championship CECAFA qualifiers.

The Ugandan team brushed aside South Sudan 1-0, and humbled Burundi 3-0 in Group B matches they played at the FERWAFA Technical Centre ground on Thursday.

Kennedy Okwi netted a brace, while Andrew Sseguya and Vincent Kizza Mawada also scored to ensure Uganda collected six points and are top of the Group.

“We are happy with the two wins on Day 1 and we shall continue to focus and win the remaining group match on Friday before we turn focus to the semi-finals,” said Uganda’s Boys coach and former Uganda Cranes International Richard Malinga.

Somalia who shocked Burundi 2-1 are second in Group B, while South Sudan and Burundi are yet to pick a point. Rwanda who defeated Sudan 6-0 and drew goalless with Tanzania lead Group A with 4 points, ahead of Tanzania who have the same number of points, but a lower goal difference.

In the Girls category Uganda’s team also collected maximum points in two Group A matches played at the Kigali Pele Stadium. Uganda defeated Burundi 3-0 in their opening match, and followed it with a 1-0 victory against the hosts Rwanda to lead Group A. Rwanda with 3 points are second in the Group, while South Sudan and Burundi have collected a point each from two matches played.

The Girls defending champions Tanzania lead Group B with 4 points after they saw off Somalia 5-0, after they had been held to a goalles draw against Kenya. Somalia who thrashed Sudan 5-0 and lost to Tanzania are second with 3 points, while Kenya have a point, and Sudan with no point are bottom of the log.

Action continues on Friday with more Group matches and the semi-finals.

The winners in each category will take US$100,000, runners-up US$75,000, and the third placed team US$50,000. The winners in category will also represent the CECAFA Zone at the continental level.

Boys

Group A

                      P   W    D    L    GF   GA  GD  Pts

Rwanda        2    1     1    0    6      0     6     4

Tanzania       2    1     1    0    4      0     4    4

Kenya            2    0     1    1    0      4    -4    1

Sudan            2    0     1    1     0     6    -6    1

Group B

                       P   W    D    L   GF  GA  GD  Pts

Uganda         2    2     0    0    4     0     4    6

Somalia        1    1     0    0    2     1     1    3

S.Sudan        1    0     0    1    0     1    -1    0

Burundi        2    0     0    2    1     5    -4    0

Girls

Group A

                  P   W    D    L   GF  GA  GD  Pts

Uganda    2    2     0    0    4     0     4    6

Rwanda   2    1     0    1    1     1     0    3

S. Sudan  2     0     1    1    0     1   -1    1

Burundi   2     0     1    0    0     3    -3   1

Group B

                  P   W    D    L   GF  GA  GD  Pts

Tanzania  2    1     1    0    5     0     5    4

Somalia    2    1     0    1    5     5     0    3

Kenya       1    0     1    0    0     0     0    1

Sudan       1     0    0    1    0     5    -5    0

Several workshops have kicked-off today ahead of the start of the CAF African Schools Football Championship CECAFA qualifiers in Kigali, Rwanda.

The workshops for Young Reporters, Local Safeguarding, Young Coaches, Grassroots Football and CAF D licence started at the Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA) Technical Centre on Wednesday.

Shon Osimbo, an accomplished broadcast journalist from Kenya said she was impressed with the youngsters she handled in the Young Reporters workshop.

“Day 1 has been very educative and the youngsters are very eager to learn. We shall shift to the practical part on Thursday and Friday where we expect to learn more,” she added.

The Safeguarding Workshop was led by FIFA certified Safeguarding officers Jules Karangwa and Veronica Lusichi.

The Workshops will continue to run alongside the tournament which concludes on September 5^th at the Kigali Pele Stadium.

The Workshops initiated by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) promote holistic youth development, education, and off-pitch skills.

The 2026 CAF African Schools Football Championship CECAFA qualifiers will kick-off on September 3^rd at two different venues in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Zonal qualifier tournament played for Under-15s for both Boys and Girls will climax on September 5th .

In the draw conducted by the CECAFA Competitions Director, Yusuf Mossi at the FAWE Girls’ School in Gisozi on Wednesday, hosts Rwanda have been placed alongside Kenya Sudan and Tanzania in the Boys Group A.

Uganda, the 2025 winners in the Boys category have been placed in Group B alongside Somalia, South Sudan and Burundi.

“This Schools tournament started by the CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe was launched to give the youngsters opportunity to nature their talent by competing,” added Mossi.

The Girls category will play their matches at the FERWAFA Complex ground for the two days, while the Boys category play at the Kigali Pele Stadium. The final day of the tournament on September 5^th will be staged at the Kigali Pele Stadium.

He made it clear that the top two teams from each group in each of the categories will qualify for the semi-final stage. The winners in the Boys and Girls categories will represent the CECAFA Zone at the CAF African Schools Football Championship continental stage.

The winners in each category will take US$100,000, runners-up US$75,000, and the third placed team US$50,000.

The tournament supported by the Motsepe Foundation earmarks the cash prizes won by the best teams to improve school infrastructure, such as building classrooms, upgrading sports facilities, or installing clean water systems.

Boys

Group A: Rwanda, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania

Group B: Uganda, Somalia, South Sudan, Burundi

Girls

Group A: Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Uganda

Group B: Tanzania, Sudan, Kenya, Somalia