The 2026 TotalEnergies CAF Futsal Africa Cup of Nations begins in Rabat, Morocco, on Monday, with eight countries set to battle for the continental crown in a competition scheduled to run until October 21.
The Confederation of African Football announced on Monday that Libya and Zambia will face off in the opening fixture at the Moulay Abdellah Sports Hall as the tournament gets underway.
The participating countries are hosts Morocco, Libya, Zambia, Algeria, Egypt, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania.
The eight teams have been drawn into two groups. Group A features Morocco, Libya, Zambia and Algeria, while Egypt, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania make up Group B.
Libya will enter the tournament hoping to improve on their third-place finish at the 2024 edition, where they defeated Egypt in a penalty shootout to secure the bronze medal.
The 2008 champions will be guided by new head coach Pereira da Silva, who succeeded Ricardo Inuguez.
The former Al-Ittihad and Misrata coach will be looking to lead the Mediterranean Knights to victory in their opening encounter against Zambia.
Zambia, on the other hand, will be under the guidance of Andrea Cristoforetti, who returns for his second successive CAF Futsal Africa Cup of Nations after leading the team at the 2024 tournament in Rabat.
Cristoforetti disclosed that his team had prepared for the competition with two friendly matches against Egypt, which provided an opportunity to evaluate their readiness.
“We had two friendly games against Egypt, which gave us a good indication of our level, more or less. I can tell from my experience of many, many years, from when I was a player, that Libya has always been a team that plays in the World Cup, giving problems with a structured, solid game of futsal,” Cristoforetti said, according to CAF.
“We are truly curious to see where we stand against these two North African teams. This is our situation.”
The Zambian tactician also expressed optimism that the experience his players have accumulated since the last tournament would translate into an improved performance.
“The preparation went pretty well. We have some of the players, like our captain, with experience now, and we know what to expect in a competition like this.
“So, I think we will be a little more ready than last time, in trying again to fill that gap, that huge gap we had against more experienced teams. As Zambia has been growing throughout these four years, I think this will be one more step in that growth,” he said.
While Libya will seek to build on their previous podium finish, Zambia will aim to demonstrate their progress against one of the continent’s established futsal teams as the contest for African supremacy gets underway.
