African sport: five dates to watch for the rest of October

Jacob Kiplimo at the Chicago Marathon on 12 October 2025 (archive).

From the Chicago Marathon to the Dakar Youth Olympics, five events help frame the rest of October. They require different kinds of attention: a race is decided in one day, a club tie over two legs, while the youth tournaments extend into November.

This selection puts the highlights already covered in our guides into context. It is not a complete calendar of competitions and domestic leagues.

11 October: Chicago, a one-day event

The Chicago Marathon is scheduled for Sunday 11 October. African audiences will be watching both the women’s and men’s races, remembering that an entry list is not a confirmed result.

A marathon is about more than the winner’s name. Early pace, groups forming and late gaps explain how a performance develops. Time and finishing position answer different questions: how did the athlete run, and how did they fare against their rivals? Our Chicago preview sets out what is at stake on 11 October.

12–21 October: futsal’s continental tournament

The Futsal AFCON is announced for 12–21 October in Morocco. The day after the marathon, the calendar shifts: follow a whole tournament, then place each result in the competition’s progress.

Futsal deserves that distinct approach. Following only a sequence of scores would miss the group-stage stakes and the move into decisive matches. Our guide to the groups and what is at stake provides context before kick-off.

16–18 and 23–25 October: two-legged club ties

CAF schedules the first legs of the second preliminary round of its club competitions for 16–18 October, with return legs on 23–25 October. These windows cover the Champions League and Confederation Cup; each tie then has its own precise date.

The first weekend sets the situation for the second. A first-leg lead still needs defending; a deficit creates a target to chase. Declaring qualification before the tie is over would erase the stakes of the return leg. Our Pirates and Mazembe feature explores two concrete cases. Mazembe announce matches on 17 and 25 October, within CAF’s overall windows.

From 17 October: the U17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco

The U17 Women’s World Cup is scheduled from 17 October to 7 November. Its opening overlaps with the Futsal AFCON and club competitions, but it concludes the following month.

For these young players, coverage should focus on matches and collective development. An opening performance offers clues; it cannot define a whole tournament or future career. Our U17 Women’s World Cup guide maps African teams’ routes towards the knockout stage.

31 October: Dakar opens an event stretching into November

The Dakar Youth Olympic Games are announced for 31 October to 13 November. The opening date is a shared reference point, not the competition date for every discipline.

Unlike the Chicago Marathon, following Dakar means choosing events from a broad programme. Distinguishing the Games’ opening from each sport’s schedule helps avoid missing an event or expecting a result too early. Our Dakar 2026 guide brings together the first key details.

Dates checked on 5 October 2026. Announced programmes may be changed by organisers.

• Chicago: organiser’s FAQ, and World Athletics calendar indexed for 11 October 2026; direct access to the calendar was denied during the check.
• Futsal : CAF, 12 August 2026 and Mozambican federation, 11 August 2026. Separate institutional sources; independent collection of the dates has not been established.
• Club competitions: CAF calendar, 2 July 2026 ; TP Mazembe programme, 30 September 2026, corroborating that club’s case, not every fixture.
• U17 Women’s World Cup: FIFA, 7 September 2026 and US Soccer participation announcement, 24 September 2026. Only the tournament window is used in this calendar.
• Dakar : IOC, 5 December 2022 and World Rowing’s own preparations, 30 September 2026.

Photo: Photoguy1212, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Original file. Jacob Kiplimo at the Chicago Marathon on 12 October 2025 (archive). Cropped and resized.