NEWS
Rwanda President Paul Kagame meets with CECAFA Zone leaders
The President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame on Thursday met presidents of Member Associations in the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Zone.
He met the Presidents from the CECAFA Zone at his official office at the sidelines of the 73rd FIFA Congress.
During the meeting Kagame who has financially supported the regional CECAFA Club Championship named the Kagame Cup for over 10 years called upon co-operation and team work from all the Member Associations and governments in the region noting that there was more to be gained by working together.
The Rwanda President made it clear that working together is vital to ensure that none of the member associations is left behind in the quest to grow sports and in particular football in the regions.
Wallace Karia, the CECAFA President and President of the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) thanked Kagame for the support he has given CECAFA over the years and congratulated him for successfully hosting the 73 rd FIFA congress, the first in Africa.
The CECAFA President also noted that due to Kagame’s commitment to Football, CECAFA has approached and secured support from both President Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, supporting Women’s Football and President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda, who will support U-23 Football in the region.
Karia pointed out that the CECAFA Zone has challenges of Stadia infrastructure noting that only two member associations at the moment, Tanzania and Rwanda are playing their CAF and FIFA matches at home.
He humbly requested President Kagame, in his capacity as the CECAFA patron and from his love and passion and commitment to Football to pass a humble message to the other heads of state in the region and appeal for their investment in Sports Infrastructure and in particular, to ensure that each country has a facility to host CAF And FIFA competitions.
Kagame promised to pass the message appealing for investment in sports infrastructure to his counterparts and urged the Member Association Presidents to also play their role. The Rwanda President noted that the youth in the region are the majority, accounting for almost 50% of the populace and Sports is a critical avenue to addressing the youth and offering opportunities for them.
Uganda Crested Cranes have defeated Ethiopia 2-0 in the first leg round one clash of the in the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) 2026 qualifiers.
After a scrappy first half with the two teams not creating decent scoring chances, the teams produced a more entertaining display after recess at the Hamz Stadium Nakivubo.
The hosts scored late through Zainah Namuleme and Fazilah Ikwaput.
Loza Abera, Ethiopia’s captain plying her trade in the USA came close to scoring midway the second half, but her effort was stopped by Uganda’s goalkeeper Ruth Aturo.
As the match seemed destined for a draw Uganda earned a free kick outside the box. Namuleme made no mistake curling in the free kick past the defenders and the Ethiopian goalkeeper Tarikwa Bergena.
In the third minute of added time Ikwaput lso got her name on the score sheet from close range to ensure Uganda collected a 2-0 win.
In the other matches involving teams from the CECAFA Zone Rwanda suffered a 1-0 defeat to Egypt in Kigali, while hosts Kenya and Tunisia settled for a goalless draw. Later Djibouti will face Togo.
The head coach of Simba SC has said facing Al Masry SC in the quarter final stage of the 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup will not be an easy task.
After the draw was conducted yesterday in Qatar, the Tanzania Premier League side was drawn to face Egyptian side Al Masry SC.
Speaking after the draw Simba SC head coach Fadlu Davids has made it clear that at this level it is always very tricky and difficult because all the teams are good. “Facing Al Masry will not be easy. But we had pre-season in Egypt and we know what to expect when we play the first leg in Egypt,” explained the head coach.
Fadlu Davids made it clear that it was very important for Simba SC to top the group so that they play the first leg of the quarter final away from home.
The two-legged quarter-final matches will be played on April 2 and April 9 April, 2025.
In the other matches Cup holders Zamalek SC of Egypt will face Stellenbosch FC (South Africa), ASEC Mimosas (Ivory Coast) take on Morocco’s RS Berkane, and CS Constantine battle USM Alger in an Algerian derby.
The winner of the tie between Simba SC and Al Masry, and the clash between Zamalek SC and Stellenbosch FC, while the second semi-final will see the winner between RS Berkane and ASEC Mimosas battle the winner between USM Alger and CS Constantine.
Quarter-Finals fixture
Stellenbosch FC (South Africa) vs Zamalek SC (Egypt)
ASEC Mimosas (Ivory Coast) vs RS Berkane (Morocco)
CS Constantine (Algeria) vs USM Alger (Algeria)
Al Masry (Egypt) vs Simba SC (Tanzania)
Two teams from the CECAFA Zone Uganda and Tanzania have been placed in Group A ahead of the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025.
During the draw conducted on Thursday in Cairo, Egypt, the CECAFA Zonal champions Uganda have been placed with Tanzania, hosts Morocco and Zambia. In the final of the Zonal qualifiers Uganda stopped Tanzania 2-1.
The expanded tournament which will feature 16 teams is selected for March 30th to April 19th, 2025. The best 10 teams will qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup to take place in Qatar in November.
During the draw conducted by former Mali international Adama Coulibaly and ex-Senegal star Souleymane Camara will act as draw assistants, another team from the CECAFA Zone Somalia was placed in Group C alongside defending champions Senegal, Gambia and Tunisia.
The 2011 champions Burkina Faso are placed in Group B alongside the champion from UNIFFAC, South Africa and Egypt, while Group D has Mali, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire and the second team in the UNIFFAC qualifiers.
Group A: Morocco, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia
Group B: Burkina Faso, UNIFAC 1, South Africa, Egypt
Group C: Senegal, Gambia, Somalia, Tunisia
Group D: Mali, Angola, Cote D’Ivoire, UNIFFAC 2
Somalia has been included as one of the teams that will feature in the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025.
The Somalian team which finished third in the Zonal CECAFA qualifiers after stopping South Sudan 1-0 in the play-off late last year has been included by CAF together with Gambia from the WAFU-UFOA Zone A.
The CECAFA Zone will be represented by Uganda, Tanzania and Somalia during the competition which runs March 30th to April 19th, 2025 in Morocco. The final draw for the competition will take place on February 13th in Cairo, Egypt.
The expanded tournament will see 16 teams compete, with a record 10 African nations to qualify for the 48-team FIFA U-17 World Cup that will be staged in Qatar from November 5-27th, 2025.
Teams to be drawn
Morocco (host), Angola, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Gambia, Mali, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and one team each UNIFFAC and UNIFFAC.
-
CECAFA10 years agoBotswana beats Kenya in African Youth Championships
-
Top stories5 years agoWe need to win the first match against Coronavirus – Infantino
-
CAF African Nations Championship5 months agoAfrican Nations Championship 2025 dates announced
-
NEWS4 years agoFIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers: Eritrea ejects Djibouti 6-1 on aggregate
-
CECAFA6 years agoCecafa mourns former chairman Tesfaye Ghebreyesus
-
CECAFA U-18 Boys Championship1 year agoSemi-final stage set for CECAFA U-18 Championship 2023
-
NEWS4 years agoYoung Africans SC face Nyasa Big Bullets in CECAFA Kagame Cup kick-off
-
CAF5 years agoCAF approves dates for 2020 Total African Nations Championship in Cameroon