{"id":2000125888,"date":"2026-09-13T16:27:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T14:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000125888"},"modified":"2026-09-13T16:28:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T14:28:00","slug":"rwanda-u-20-team-heads-to-tanzania-for-2027-afcon-qualifiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwanda-u-20-team-heads-to-tanzania-for-2027-afcon-qualifiers\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda U-20 team heads to Tanzania for 2027 AFCON qualifiers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team left Kigali International Airport on Sunday, September 13, 2026, ahead of the tournament, which runs from September 15 to 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Head coach Cassa Mbungo Andr\u00e9 is leading a 25-player squad, assisted by Ntamuhanga Tumaini, physical trainer Peter Otema and goalkeeper coach Ndizeye Aim\u00e9 D\u00e9sir\u00e9 \u2018Ndanda\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rwanda is in Group A alongside hosts Tanzania and Ethiopia. The matches will be played at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam, which was renovated ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Rwandan side comes into the tournament after playing two friendly matches against Sudan\u2019s U-20 team. The first ended in a 2-2 draw, while the second finished 1-1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Group B consists of Uganda, Sudan and Djibouti, while Group C features South Sudan, Burundi and Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The three group winners will advance to the semi-finals, alongside the best-performing second-placed team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two finalists will qualify to represent the CECAFA region at the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which will be held in Ghana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1000\" data-id=\"2000125892\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/whatsapp_image_2026-09-13_at_10.34_41-ade13.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000125892\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The team left Kigali International Airport on Sunday, September 13, 2026, ahead of the tournament, which runs from September 15 to 25.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1000\" data-id=\"2000125891\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/whatsapp_image_2026-09-13_at_10.34_43-9371d.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000125891\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Head coach Cassa Mbungo Andr\u00e9 is leading a 25-player squad, assisted by Ntamuhanga Tumaini, physical trainer Peter Otema and goalkeeper coach Ndizeye Aim\u00e9 D\u00e9sir\u00e9 \u2018Ndanda\u2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1000\" data-id=\"2000125890\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/whatsapp_image_2026-09-13_at_10.34_40-cefe8.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000125890\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>The players had spent the past week preparing for the tournament.<\/strong><br><br><br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1000\" data-id=\"2000125889\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/whatsapp_image_2026-09-13_at_10.34_38_1_-2054a.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000125889\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Rwanda\u2019s 25-player squad heads to Tanzania for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.<\/strong><br><br><br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rwanda\u2019s U-20 national team, Amavubi, has travelled to Dar es Salaam for the CECAFA qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000125890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000125888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default 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