Kenya handed bye, Zambia to face Uganda in 2028 Olympics qualifiers

Kenya women’s national team Harambee Starlets have been handed a bye in the first round of the African qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games following the official draw conducted on Wednesday, April 29, at the headquarters of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cairo.

A total of 35 nations will take part in the African qualification series, which will be played over five rounds. Harambee Starlets will enter the competition in the second round, where they are set to face Seychelles.

Mighty Warriors set for Olympic Qualifier 🇿🇼🔥

Zimbabwe’s Mighty Warriors will take on Malawi in the African qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games Women’s Football Tournament.

It’s a two-legged battle. Home and away. Everything to play for.

Let’s rally behind our… pic.twitter.com/Wc2ROKmIo2

— Zimbabwe Football Association (@online_zifa) April 29, 2026

Only two teams will secure qualification to represent the continent at the women’s football tournament of the 2028 Summer Olympics, scheduled to take place from July 11 to July 29, 2028. The fourth round, scheduled for October 4 to October 12, will see winners from the third round face off against opponents from parallel fixtures.

Zambia to face Uganda’s Crested Cranes

The Zambia women national team has been drawn against the Crested Cranes of Uganda in the second round of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics qualifiers.

Zambia is among 29 teams that have been exempted from the first round due to a better ranking on the charts.  The Copper Queens will face Uganda over two legs from October 5-13 before negotiating their ticket to the third round.

Qualifiers expected to start in June

The two-time Olympians (Tokyo 2020& Paris 2024) will then come up against Ghana or the winners of the Mauritius versus Djibouti contest.
Ghana will have to beat Mauritius/Djibouti to earn their qualification to the third round where Zambia or Uganda will await.

The African round of qualifiers comprises five rounds that will see top two teams represent Africa at the Los Angeles Games. Qualifiers are expected to start in June (preliminaries) up to December 2027 when the final CAF envoys are decided.

Elsewhere, Zimbabwe’s Mighty Warriors will take on Malawi in the African qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games Women’s football tournament.

Ghana’s Black Queens will begin their journey to the Olympic Games from the second round of the African qualifiers after drawing bye in round one.

A total of 35 teams took part in the draw including: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The qualification campaign will culminate in the fifth and final round, to be played between November 23 and December 4, where the remaining teams will compete for the two available slots at the Olympic Games.