The Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) has confirmed that twelve teams will tussle it out in the CECAFA Kagame Cup 2024.

Tanzania will host the tournament which runs July 9-21 in Dar es Salaam at the Azam Complex in Chamazi and KMC Stadium in Kinondoni.

The draw for the tournament will be conducted on July 3rd, 2024 in the Azam TV studio in Dar es Salaam. Azam TV are one of the partners of CECAFA.

“Although we had initially planned to have 16 teams, we have been forced to reduce on the numbers and also change the dates because of some challenges. But we believe this tournament will give our teams in the Zone a good platform to prepare well ahead of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup,” says the CECAFA Executive Director John Auka Gecheo.

He made it clear that the Zambia Premier League Champions Red Arrows FC will be the only guest side that will play in the tournament.

The twelve teams will be placed in three different groups with four teams each. The top teams from each group and the best runner-up will automatically qualify for the semi-final stage.

Confirmed teams

Coastal Union FC, Singida Black Stars FC (Tanzania)

Al Hilal, Al Wadi FC (Sudan)

Gor Mahia FC (Kenya)

SC Villa (Uganda)

Djibouti Telkom FC (Djibouti)

Dekedaha FC (Somalia)

APR FC (Rwanda)

JKU SC (Zanzibar)

El Merriekh Bentiu (South Sudan)

Red Arrows FC (Zambia)

Kenya Premier League champions Gor Mahia FC will have a new coach lead them at the regional CECAFA Kagame Cup 2024 slated for July 9-21st in Dar es salaam, Tanzania.

Gor Mahia announced the signing of a new coach Leonardo Martins Neiva on Monday. The experienced coach takes over from Johnathan McKinstry who recently joined Gambia as the national head coach.

The Brazilian who will have the first task of leading the team at the CECAFA Kagame Cup is not new to the African setting after handing SC Vipers (Uganda), Young Africans SC (Tanzania), Al-Merriekh (Sudan) and South Africa’s Platinum Stars Youth side. He has also coached teams in Brazil, Mynmar, Jamaica and Thailand.

Neiva will be assisted by our former player and coach Zedekiah ‘Zico’ Otieno and Michael Nam as they lead Gor Mahia as they attempt to win their fourth CECAFA Kagame Cup trophy.

Top teams from the CECAFA Zone will also use the regional tournament to prepare ahead of the start of the 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and the TotalEnergies Confederation Cup.

The CECAFA Kagame Cup 2024 will take place in Tanzania.

The regional tournament organised under the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) will take place from July 20th to 4th August, 2024.

John Auka Gecheo, the CECAFA Executive Director has confirmed that some guest sides will take part in the tournament which will return this year after it was last held in 2021.

“We are glad that this tournament will be returning after two years to provide a brilliant preseason platform for the teams to prepare better before the start of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League, CAF Confederations Cup and the different Leagues back home,” dded  Gecheo.

He explained that besides the respective Premier League champions from the 12 Members Associations including Zanzibar, CECAFA will also invite some other teams to spice up the tournament.

Uganda’s Express FC beat guest side Nyasa Big Bullets from Malawi 1-0 in the final when the tournament was last held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 2021. Tanzania’s Simba SC have lifted the CECAFA Kagame Cup a record six times, while Young Africans SC (Tanzania) and Tusker FC (Kenya) five times each. The teams that have lifted the title three times each include; APR FC (Rwanda), Al Merriekh (Sudan), SC Villa (Uganda) and Kenya’s Gor Mahia FC.