Kenya’s national football team, the Harambee Stars, will headline an action-packed international window as the qualification campaign for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) PAMOJA 2027 resumes with Matchdays 3 and 4 between 12 and 17 November 2026.

While forty-eight matches are scheduled across the continent, local attention is firmly locked on Group D, where Kenya faces a pivotal home-and-away double-header against group leaders South Africa.

As one of the three co-hosts alongside neighbors Uganda and Tanzania, Kenya has already secured automatic qualification for the tournament finals, scheduled to run from 19 June to 17 July 2027.

However, their participation in the qualifiers carries significant weight for their opponents and provides crucial competitive rhythm for the Stars. Under tournament regulations, in groups featuring a tournament co-host, only the single highest-placed team excluding the host nation advances to the 24-team finals.

South Africa currently commands Group D with a perfect six points. Kenya, sitting on one point following an opening draw against Eritrea and a 1–0 setback away to Guinea, will look to test their mettle against Bafana Bafana.

• Matchday 3: South Africa vs. Kenya — Friday, 13 November 2026
• Matchday 4: Kenya vs. South Africa — Tuesday, 17 November 2026

The reverse fixture will see Kenya return home to host South Africa, while Guinea and Eritrea square off in the group’s other double-header.

The remaining East African co-hosts also face critical encounters across Matchdays 3 and 4:

• Tanzania (Group L): The Taifa Stars face a marquee challenge against three-time African champions Nigeria. The Tanzanians travel to Nigeria on Friday, 13 November, before hosting the Super Eagles in the return leg on Tuesday, 17 November.
• Uganda (Group H): Leading their group with four points, the Uganda Cranes take on Botswana, hosting the first leg on Saturday, 14 November, ahead of the return clash in Gaborone on Tuesday, 17 November. In the same group, North African rivals Tunisia and Libya meet in a derby.

Outside the host nations’ pools, the standard qualifying rule applies: the top two finishers in each pool earn direct passage to the finals.

The window features several high-profile clashes between teams boasting 100% records:

• Group C: Reigning African champions Côte d’Ivoire and The Gambia, both tied on six points, collide in a top-of-the-table clash.
• Group K: Mali and Rwanda, both having collected maximum points from their opening matches, meet back-to-back in Bamako and Kigali.

Elsewhere, Morocco (Group A) aims to tighten its grip against Niger, while Senegal (Group J) faces Sudan in a fixture between two sides locked on four points. In Group B, Egypt and Angola look to extend their leads against Malawi and South Sudan, respectively. Group F remains finely poised with Benin and Burkina Faso level at the summit ahead of ties against the Central African Republic and Mauritania.

The qualifying series will take a four-month hiatus before concluding with Matchdays 5 and 6 in March 2027, where the full 24-team lineup for East Africa’s historic joint-hosted tournament will be finalized.