Zimbabwe To Host 2026 Caf African Schools Championship Finals In April
The caf confirmed on March 17, 2026, that Zimbabwe will host the 2026 African Schools Football Championship continental finals in Harare from April 2–10.
Caf Finals Set For Harare, April 2–10
The Confederation of African Football revealed the continental finals will run across nine days in Harare, marking the country’s return as a venue for a major CAF event after more than six years. The announcement follows regional qualification tournaments held across CAF’s six zonal regions, with zonal winners in both the boys’ and girls’ categories progressing to the final tournament.
Teams Qualified For Boys’ And Girls’ Competitions
The continental finals will feature eight teams in each of the boys’ and girls’ competitions. Qualified sides are listed below.
- Girls: Zimbabwe (hosts), Ghana (defending champions), Burkina Faso, Morocco, Guinea, Tanzania, Zambia, DR Congo
- Boys: Zimbabwe (hosts), Tanzania (defending champions), Benin, Morocco, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia, DR Congo
Prizes, Development Funds And Off-Pitch Programmes
Winners in both the boys’ and girls’ categories will receive $300, 000, with runners-up awarded $200, 000 and third-place teams receiving $150, 000. The prize money is ring-fenced for school development projects such as sports facilities, classrooms and libraries, and these incentives are backed in part by the Motsepe Foundation.
The tournament will also include capacity-building initiatives alongside the matches, with planned workshops for referees, reporters and medical personnel. Off-pitch opportunities introduced at past finals are expected to continue: at the 2025 finals in Ghana, 30 young reporters were selected for training and coverage duties, and four were later chosen for an international internship in France with Canal+.
Growth, Purpose And Recent Hosting Experience
Since its launch in 2021 under CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe, the championship has expanded into a wide-scale grassroots programme. Participation figures cited for recent editions show millions of students and tens of thousands of schools involved across dozens of countries, with one account noting more than three million participants from 82, 477 schools in 48 countries.
The competition is an under-15 tournament for boys and girls designed to develop talent at the grassroots level while supporting education through sport. CAF general secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba said the championship is central to developing the future of African football and combines sporting development with education and capacity building.
The continental finals will take place in Harare from April 2–10, with zonal winners from across the continent arriving in Zimbabwe to contest school-level honours and development prizes.
