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.