2026 African Men's Handball Championship
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Rwanda |
| Dates | 21–31 January |
| Teams | 16 (from 1 confederation) |
The 2026 African Men's Handball Championship will be the 27th edition of the African Men's Handball Championship, the biennial international men's handball championship of Africa organized by CAHB. The tournament is scheduled to be held from 21 to 31 January 2026 in Kigali, Rwanda.
It will be the first time in history that the championship will be organised by Rwanda and the first time that the championship will be held in East Africa.
It acts as the African qualifying tournament for the 2027 World Men's Handball Championship in Germany, with the top five nations qualifying.
Egypt are three time defending champions, most recently beating Algeria 29–21 in the 2024 final in Cairo.
Teams
| Team | Appearance(s) | Previous best performance[a] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | First | Last | Streak | 2024 | ||
| Algeria | 26th | 1976 | 2024 | 26 | 2nd | Champions (1981, 1983, 1985, 1983, 1989, 1996, 2014) |
| Angola | 20th | 1979 | 13 | 8th | Third place (2004, 2014, 2016) | |
| Benin | 2nd | 1996 | 1 | N/A | Ninth place (1996) | |
| Cameroon | 19th | 1974 | 2024 | 13 | 10th | Runners-up (1974) |
| Cape Verde | 4th | 2020 | 4 | 4th | Runners-up (2022) | |
| Congo | 22nd | 1979 | 2 | 13th | Runners-up (1983) | |
| Egypt | 25th | 1979 | 26 | 1st | Champions (1991, 1992, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2016, 2020, 2022, 2024) | |
| Gabon | 12th | 2000 | 8 | 11th | Fifth place (2018) | |
| Guinea | 5th | 1981 | 4 | 5th | Fifth place (2024) | |
| Kenya | 5th | 2004 | 2 | 15th | Ninth place (2004) | |
| Morocco | 21st | 1987 | 21 | 7th | Third place (2006, 2022) | |
| Nigeria | 16th | 1979 | 7 | 9th | Fourth place (1998) | |
| Rwanda (H) | 2nd | 2024 | 2 | 14th | Fourteenth place (2024) | |
| Tunisia | 27th | 1974 | 27 | 3rd | Champions (1974, 1976, 1979, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2018) | |
| Uganda | 1st | Debut | ||||
| Zambia | 4th | 2020 | 2024 | 4 | 16th | Thirteenth place (2022) |
Draw
The draw was held on 14 November 2025 in Kigali, Rwanda.[1][2]
Seeding
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt Algeria Tunisia Cape Verde |
Guinea Angola Morocco Nigeria |
Cameroon Gabon Congo Rwanda |
Benin Kenya Zambia Uganda |
Preliminary round
All times are local (UTC+2).
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Algeria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Nigeria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Rwanda (H) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Placement round |
| 4 | Zambia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 21 January 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egypt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Angola | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Gabon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Placement round |
| 4 | Uganda | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 21 January 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tunisia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Guinea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Cameroon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Placement round |
| 4 | Kenya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 21 January 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Verde | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Morocco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Congo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Placement round |
| 4 | Benin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 21 January 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Notes
- ^ Bold text indicates they hosted that edition.
References
- ^ "27th Men's Senior Africa Cup of Nations, Rwanda 2026: Kigali will host the group stage draw on November 14th". CAHB. 10 November 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
- ^ "27th Men's Senior CAN, Rwanda 2026: the group compositions are known!". CAHB. 14 November 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.