Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially locked in its competition calendar for 2026, setting the stage for one of the busiest years in African football history across club, international, youth, and Olympic competitions.
With major finals, World Cup preparations, AFCON qualifiers, and youth tournaments all crammed into a tight schedule, the year offers little to no breathing space for players and clubs alike. The climax of the club season will come in May, with the CAF Confederation Cup and CAF Champions League finals scheduled in quick succession.
The Confederation Cup final will be played over two legs on May 9 and May 16, 2026, while the Champions League final follows almost immediately, with the first leg on May 15 and the return leg on May 24.
CAF has already confirmed Matchdays 4 and 5 of the group stages for both competitions between January 31 and February 7, with Matchday 6 dates still to be announced.
On the international front, national teams will shift focus early in the year to World Cup ambitions, with the African preliminary qualifying round slated for March 23–31, 2026. The official World Cup preparation and international calendar phase then begins on June 1, further compressing the season.
Later in the year, attention will turn to the future, as AFCON 2027 qualifiers dominate the September to November window, with Rounds 1 to 4 set for September 21 to October 6, and the final two rounds scheduled for November 9–17.
The CAF Super Cup will round off the elite club calendar on October 31, 2026. Youth and Olympic football will also take center stage, underlining the scale of the 2026 schedule. African qualifiers for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar will run from April 25 to May 15, overlapping with the peak of the club season.
Meanwhile, preliminary qualifiers for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games will be staged in two phases—September 28 to October 4, and November 9 to 17—adding further strain to an already congested calendar.
With competitions stacked back-to-back and international windows overlapping domestic and continental commitments, 2026 promises relentless action across African football.
For players, coaches, and administrators, it will be a year of careful planning and squad management—because once the ball starts rolling, there will be no pause button.
