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.
CA U-20 Africa Cup of Nations CECAFA qualifiers
Nine teams for CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations CECAFA qualifiers
Nine teams have registered to take part in the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) CECAFA qualifiers.
The regional qualifier will take place September 16-30th,2026 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Yusuf Mossi, the CECAFA Competitions Manager confirmed that the nine teams have entered, and only Eritrea and Somalia will miss out.
“The draw for the competition will take place on August 31st at the Kigali Pele Stadium in the Rwanda capital Kigali at 10.30am. We shall have three groups with three teams each. The top team in each group and the best second placed team from any group will qualify for the semi-final stage,” added Mossi.
He further explained that the best two teams will qualify to represent the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Zone at the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.
Tanzania are the defending champions after defeating Kenya 2-1 in the final during the 2024 Zonal qualifiers held at the KMC Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
Eight teams from the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) have been drawn for the TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027 qualifiers.
In the draw conducted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Egypt on Tuesday, the eight teams have all been drawn to start in the first round.
Kenya have drawn Tanzania, while Djibouti takes on South Sudan. The other fixtures will see Ethiopia take on Uganda, and Rwanda battle Sudan. The first leg matches of the first round will be played on September 28th, while the return legs will take place October 6th.
The winner between Ethiopia and Uganda over two legs will qualify to face Morocco in the second round of the qualifiers in November this year.
Senegal will await to face the winner between Djibouti and South Sudan in the second round, while the winner between Kenya and Tanzania will line-up against Cote D’Ivoire in the next round. The winner between Rwanda and Sudan will take on Cameroon in the second round.
A total of 43 nations will be engaged in the U-23 AFCON qualifiers, with hosts Egypt automatically qualified for the finals in 2027.
The remaining 42 teams will compete for seven places at the continental showpiece through three rounds of home-and-away qualifying ties that end in March 2027.
First round matches for CECAFA teams
Kenya Vs Tanzania
Djibouti Vs South Sudan
Ethiopia Vs Uganda
Rwanda Vs Sudan
Uganda Cranes attacking midfielder Allan Okello has completed a move to Morocco’s Premier League – Botola Pro side, AS FAR Rabat.
The 26-year old was unveiled by the Club on Friday. He joins the Moroccan side on a three year deal.
“I am very excited to join a big team like AS FAR. I promise to do my best to help the team to win titles,” added Okello.
Okello moves from Tanzania Premier League side Young Africans SC who he only joined late last year.
The midfielder delivered a commendable performance netting 14 goals and 8 assists in the seven months he spent with the Tanzanian Champions.
Before joining Young Africans SC, Okello also helped Vipers SC win a double in the 2024/2025 season.
Okello returns to North Africa having featured for Algeria’s Premier League side between 2020-2023.
In Uganda Okello made his breakthrough in School Football before joining Premier League side KCCA FC who he helped reach the group stage of the 2028/2029 CAF Champions League.
The attacking midfielder is also remembered for missing a penalty in a crucial group match against Tanzania at the 2025 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.
Gaadiidka FC are the 2025/2026 Somali Premier League champions.
In a deciding match played at the Mogadishu Stadium on Friday, Gaadiidka FC secured a goalless draw against third placed Dekedaha FC to finish top.
The draw saw Gaadiidka FC finish with 51 points, while Heegan FC came second with 50 points. The 2024/2025 winners Mogadishu City FC finished in 4th place with 42 points.
It is the second time Gaadiidka FC win the Somali Premier League after they first secured it in the 2021/2022 season.
Jubba FC and Gantaalaha FC that finished 12th and 11th respectively have been relegated to the lower Division.
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