FAZ Unveils Action-Packed 2026 Football Calendar
As the football community mellows into 2026, the FAZ Media Team unravels some of the exciting activities on the football calendar in the brand new year.
1) CAF Inter-Club Group Stage Assignments: The two Zambia clubs flying the national flag on the continental stage will be back in action in the next few weeks. Power Dynamos will host Nigerian outfit Rivers United on January 24, 2026 on Match Day Three of the CAF Champions League Group stage while Zesco United will be at home to Kaizer Chiefs the following day in the CAF Confederation Cup. Reverse fixtures for these matches will be held within seven days in what promises to be back-to-back action.
2) U20 Women World Cup Qualification Campaign: The Zambia Under-20 Women World Cup will resume their chase for a debut FIFA World Cup appearance next month when they face Uganda in the two-legged third round encounters. Zambia will be away to Uganda on February 7-8 before hosting the East Africans at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium a week later with a place in the final round at stake. In the second round, the Young Copper Queens battered Burundi 4-1 over two legs to keep their campaign on course.
3) CAF Inter-Club Match Day Five Action: On February 7, Power Dynamos will host RS Berkane of Morocco while Zesco United will host Zamalek the following day in their CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup tussles respectively. Both matches will be played at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium. The two sides will be away the following week on Match Day six games.
4) Futsal AFCON Qualifiers: On February 3-4 the Zambia Futsal National Team will be away to Ghana in the first leg of the Morocco 2026 Futsal AFCON qualifiers. The return leg will be held in Lusaka on February 7-8 with the winner over two legs grabbing a ticket to the AFCON to be staged later in the year.
5) 2026 WAFCON: The Zambia Women National Team will be part of the Women Africa Cup of Nations, which will take place March 17 to April 3. Zambia will be participating in its fifth straight WAFCON having been part of the 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2024 (played in 2025).
6) U17 Women World Cup Qualifiers: Qualifiers for the Morocco 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place from April 10-12. Depending on the outcome subsequent rounds will take the qualifiers through May, June & July with the tournament set for October/November.
7) Women U20 FIFA World Cup: The final tournament will be held in September 2026 with Zambia chasing its debut appearance.
A litany of Cosafa tournaments cuts across all age groups will be rolled out once the 2026 calendar has been approved.
9) CAF Schools AFCON: Zambia has already qualified for the CAF Schools tournament where they will represent the Cosafa zone.
10) 2027 AFCON Qualifiers: The Chipolopolo will be back in the race for qualification to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations to be hosted by Tanzania/Uganda/Kenya. The draws for the 2027 AFCON will only be unveiled after the ongoing AFCON, which concludes on January 18, 2026 in Morocco. Zambia will be hoping to qualify for a third successive tournament having been recently at the 2023 and 2025 editions.
NOTE: The list is not exhaustive but merely a skeleton of what the football calendar looks like in 2026.
Original post by FAZ
