CECAFA President praises Kagame for support to develop Football in the Zone

The President of the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) has hyped praise on Rwanda President, Paul Kagame for his continuous support of Football development in the Zone.

Speaking during a press conference held at Tiffany Diamond Hotel in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, Karia said Kagame has supported CECAFA with a cash prize of US$60,000 for over 10 years now towards the regional Club Championship.

“We are very grateful to President Kagame because he has played a big role in Football development in the Zone and also thank President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu for her contribution to ensure Football keeps growing,” added Karia. He also thanked Tanzania Ports Authority for coming in as a partner for the CECAFA Dar Port Kagame Cup 2024.

The CECAFA President also told the media that the on-going CECAFA Dar Port Kagame Cup has been very competitive and 37 goals have been scored in the group stages. “We shall keep working hard to make sure that this tournament for Clubs is held every year. We had last held this tournament in 2021 in Tanzania again,” added Karia.

He also highlighted that several other tournaments have been lined up in the Zone later this year including CAF Women’s Champions League CECAFA Zone qualifiers, CAF U-17 CECAFA Zone qualifiers, CAF U-20 CECAFA Zone qualifiers, CAF Schools CECAFA Zone qualifiers, and the CECAFA U-20 Women’s Championship.

John Auka Gecheo, the CECAFA Executive Director thanked the media for the work they are doing and encouraged them to keep giving Football in the Zone the mileage that it deserves.

The CECAFA Chairman of the organising Committee, Ahmed Mgoyi said that the group stage of the CECAFA Dar Port Kagame Cup 2024 has gone on well, but called on more fans to come and support good Football when the semi-final stage takes place on Friday, the final and the play-off and final on Sunday.