The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced the host nations for its three age-group continental championships, providing Zimbabwe’s youth national teams with a defined road map for the next cycle. Egypt will stage the 2027 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana will host the U-20 edition, and Morocco has been awarded the U-17 tournament.
For Zimbabwe, the U-23 competition carries extra weight as it will serve as the African qualifier for the men’s football tournament at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The Young Warriors, who have struggled to reach the Olympics in recent decades, now have a clear pathway to end that drought.
CAF also confirmed that the 2026 CAF Super Cup will take place on 8 November 2026 in Pretoria, South Africa, with kick-off set for 15:00 local time. The match pits the winners of the CAF Champions League against the CAF Confederation Cup champions.
In other decisions, the African Nations League, a proposed continental competition, remains under discussion with format and host countries yet to be finalised. CAF also reiterated its full support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino and the current FIFA leadership.
With these hosting decisions now in place, Zimbabwe’s football authorities will be expected to ramp up preparations for the qualifiers, which typically begin well in advance of the final tournaments. The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) will need to ensure the junior teams are adequately funded and exposed to competitive matches to stand a chance of securing one of the limited slots.
