The 2026 TotalEnergies CAF Futsal Africa Cup of Nations begins in Rabat, Morocco, on Monday, with eight countries competing for the continental crown until October 21.
According to the Confederation of African Football, Libya will face Zambia in the opening match at the Moulay Abdellah Sports Hall as the tournament gets underway.
The eight participating nations are hosts Morocco, Libya, Zambia, Algeria, Egypt, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania.
The teams have been drawn into two groups, with Morocco, Libya, Zambia and Algeria in Group A, while Egypt, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania make up Group B.
Libya will be looking to improve on their third-place finish at the 2024 edition, where they defeated Egypt on penalties to secure the bronze medal. The 2008 champions will be led by new head coach Pereira da Silva, who replaced Ricardo Inuguez.
The former Al-Ittihad and Misrata coach will hope to guide the Mediterranean Knights to victory in their opening encounter against Zambia.
Zambia, meanwhile, will be under the guidance of Andrea Cristoforetti, who is returning for his second consecutive CAF Futsal Africa Cup of Nations after leading the team at the 2024 tournament in Rabat.
Cristoforetti said his team had prepared for the competition with two friendly matches against Egypt, which provided an opportunity to assess their form ahead of the tournament.
“We had two friendly games against Egypt, which gave us a good indication of our level, more or less. I can tell from my experience of many, many years, from when I was a player, that Libya has always been a team that plays in the World Cup, giving problems with a structured, solid game of futsal,” Cristoforetti said, according to CAF.
“We are truly curious to see where we stand against these two North African teams. This is our situation.”
The Zambian coach also expressed optimism that his players would benefit from the experience gained since the previous edition as they seek to close the gap on more established teams.
“The preparation went pretty well. We have some of the players, like our captain, with experience now, and we know what to expect in a competition like this.
“So, I think we will be a little more ready than last time, in trying again to fill that gap, that huge gap we had against more experienced teams. As Zambia has been growing throughout these four years, I think this will be one more step in that growth,” he said.
As the tournament begins, Libya will aim to build on their previous podium finish, while Zambia will seek to demonstrate their progress against an experienced North African opponent in the race for the African title.