CAF Confirms Overloaded 2026 Fixture List Across Club and International Football

CAF Confirms Overloaded 2026 Fixture List Across Club and International Football

By Niyi Busari 

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially confirmed its competition calendar for 2026, outlining an exceptionally congested schedule that will test the endurance of clubs, players, and national teams across the continent. The calendar features a dense mix of elite club competitions, World Cup-related fixtures, AFCON qualifiers, and youth and Olympic tournaments, leaving little room for recovery throughout the year.

The continental club season is set to reach its peak in May, with the finals of CAF’s flagship competitions scheduled within days of each other. The CAF Confederation Cup final will be contested over two legs on May 9 and May 16, 2026. Almost immediately after, the CAF Champions League final will take center stage, with the first leg on May 15 and the return leg on May 24. Earlier in the year, Matchdays 4 and 5 of the group stages for both competitions will take place between January 31 and February 7, while the dates for Matchday 6 remain pending.

On the international stage, national teams will begin the year focused on World Cup qualification, with the African preliminary qualifying round scheduled for March 23 to March 31, 2026. This will be followed by the official World Cup preparation phase, which begins on June 1, further intensifying the calendar during the mid-year period.

Attention will then shift to continental ambitions, as qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations dominates the latter part of the year. AFCON qualifying rounds one to four are slated for September 21 to October 6, with the final two rounds set for November 9 to November 17. The elite club calendar will conclude with the CAF Super Cup, scheduled for October 31, 2026.

Youth and Olympic competitions add another layer to an already demanding schedule. African qualifiers for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar will take place from April 25 to May 15, overlapping with the decisive stages of the CAF club competitions. In addition, preliminary qualification rounds for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games will be staged in two windows, from September 28 to October 4 and again from November 9 to November 17.

With fixtures tightly packed and international windows overlapping domestic and continental commitments, the 2026 season is shaping up to be one of the most demanding in African football history. For players, coaches, and administrators, the year will require meticulous planning and squad rotation, as the relentless pace of competition leaves little margin for rest once the season gets underway.