2026 U-17 AFCON: Competition Kicks Off Today

The TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2026 effectively kicks off this Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Rabat, Morocco. The official opening match will see the host Morocco play Tunisia at the Stade Moulay Hassan. Other matches will be played on this first playing day of the competition including Cameroon’s opening Group B clash against Côte d’Ivoire at the Mohammed VI Complex. The U-17 Lions have prepared sufficiently for this event. Yesterday, May 12, 2026, the team was expected to conduct the traditional pitch reconnaissance ahead of today’s match. Cameroon has won the competition twice (2003 and 2019), while Côte d’Ivoire has one title to its name (2013). The two former champions will thus battle not only for superiority and points, but for a result that sets a positive tone for their title campaign. Cameroon exited the competition in the group stage last edition, but Head Coach Alioum Saidou says, “We have learned a lot from last year’s disappointment and we are working hard to correct the mistakes we made.” Talking to CAF Online about their Group B opponents; Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda; the coach says, “T...