Opening match of the UNIFAC U17 Championship in Kinshasa 2026 canceled

The Union of Central African Football Federations has announced the temporary cancellation of the opening match of the Under-17 Championship, which was set to kick off today, February 18, in Kinshasa.

After the kick-off was postponed yesterday, February 17, today brings another major development in Kinshasa as the UNIFAC U17 tournament—serving as qualifiers for the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations in this age group—gets underway.
In an official statement, the organizing body announced that "the opening match between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea has been temporarily canceled". The clash was originally scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.

What caused this sudden turn of events?

According to the statement, six players from the Equatorial Guinea team were deemed ineligible after failing MRI (IRM) tests. This number far exceeds the maximum allowed under tournament regulations, which stipulate that no more than three players can be ruled ineligible due to MRI results in such cases.

Today's schedule was supposed to feature the opening match between DR Congo and Equatorial Guinea at 13:00, followed by Cameroon taking on Gabon at 16:00.

Nafongo TRAORE |

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Nafongon Moussa TRAORE, Burkinabè de 25 ans, est passionné de football, est rédacteur pour Foot Africa et commentateur pour BurkiFoot.