National Teams
CAF confirms Rabat’s Olympic Stadium as Venue for 2026 World Cup playoffs
By Dayo Awoniyi
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially confirmed Rabat, the Moroccan capital, as the host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup African playoffs, Nigeria Footballng reports.
The confirmation brings an end to weeks of speculation following CAF’s earlier announcement that Morocco would stage the decisive playoff series without naming a specific city or venue.
According to renowned journalist Osasu Obayiuwana, the matches will be played at the iconic Rabat Olympic Stadium, a world-class facility that recently hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
With its modern infrastructure and passionate football culture, the Rabat Olympic Stadium is expected to provide an ideal setting for the high-stakes encounters that will determine Africa’s final representatives at the expanded 2026 World Cup.
Four nations are contesting the African play-offs to decide the sole CAF representative who will advance to the inter-continental play-offs: Gabon, Cameroon, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These are the four best runners-up from the nine CAF qualifying groups.
The format will see two semi-finals followed by a final, all as one-leg matches played from 13 to 16 November 2025 in Rabat. The winner earns the right to advance to the inter-continental play-offs scheduled for March 2026 — where teams from Africa, Asia, Oceania and CONCACAF will compete for the final handful of World Cup slots.
The playoffs are anticipated to deliver a thrilling mix of drama, intensity, and national pride as the continent’s top teams battle for coveted spots on football’s biggest stage.
