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2019 CACAFA SENIOR CHALLENGE CUP: Djibouti to open against Somalia
The Council of East and Central African Football Associations (CECAFA) has today released the fixture of the 2019 CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup slated to run December 7-19th in Kampala, Uganda. Djibouti will battle Somalia in the opening game of the regional tournament in a Group A match before hosts Uganda face Burundi in the second game of the say on December 7th.
Nicholas Musonye, the CECAFA Secretary General said adjustments have been made to the groups since Ethiopia, South Sudan and guest side DR Congo are now out of the tournament. In the earlier draw made in Dar es Salaam there were 12 teams with three groups.
“We wish to bring to your attention that we knock-out DR Congo, Ethiopia and South Sudan because they could not fulfill some obligations passed by the CECAFA consultative meeting in Addis Ababa early this year,” said Musonye.
He said since there are now nine teams facing off in the tournament the best two teams from each group will qualify for the semi finals to be played on December 17th. The play-off for third place and final will be played on December 19th.
“We expect a very competitive tournament because teams in the region have improved greatly and others like Uganda and Tanzania are using the competition to prepare for the 2020 Africa Nations Championship to take place in Cameroon,” added Musonye.
On Sunday Zanzibar will battle Sudan in the first match of Group B, while defending champions Harambee Stars of Kenya battle Tanzania in what is expected to be a thriller.
Group A: Uganda, Burundi, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti
Group B: Tanzania, Sudan, Kenya, Zanzibar