_{Delegates have re-elected Tanzania’s Wallace Karia as the President of the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA).}

_{Karia was un-opposed during CECAFA’s Elective General Assembly held at Hotel Verde in Zanzibar on Friday.}

_{“Since Mr Karia is the only one who submitted for the position of President, he is un-opposed,” said the CECAFA Executive Director, Auka Gecheo in-front of representatives from all the 12 member countries.}

_{Karia, also the President of the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) will serve for another four years together with his new team. Ethiopia’s Isayas Jira Bosho, Gen. Augustino Parek Maduot (South Sudan) and Burundi’s Alexandre Muyenge were also elected as Executive Committee members.}

_{Football Kenya Federation (KFF) acting President Doris Petra was also unopposed for position of Women representative on the Executive Committee. Later Karia using his judicial powers co-opted Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA) President Olivier Mugabo Nizeyimana as the fourth Executive Committee Member, and selected Esayas to continue as the Vice President.}

_{Karia thanked all the members for the support and promised to take CECAFA to the next level. “We need to work as a team and make sure we send teams to participate in the tournaments we organize. I also encourage members to pay their annual subscription fees,” added Karia. The Assembly was also attended by CAF’s head of Zones Genan Mohamed Ihab Korra.}

_{The Member Association Presidents and General Secretaries from Tanzania, Zanzibar, Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan and Djibouti all attended the General Assembly.}

_{The Elective Assembly of the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) will take place on January 6th, 2023 at Hotel Verde in Zanzibar.}

_{The Assembly will elect the Zonal President, Four executive members and a woman representative.}

_{“I have already received six candidates who have shown interest in the elections. I have already communicated the names to all national associations and we only wait for the election day,” added Auka Gecheo.}

_{The secretariat has also received a proposal from the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) for CECAFA to have standing committees for Finance, Competitions and Women’s Football development.}

_{Outgoing CECAFA President Wallace Karia also President of the Tanzania Football Association will be seeking re-election. He is the only candidate who has shown interest for the position of President.}

_{The other candidates who will the executive committee slots include; Isayas Jira (President, Ethiopia Football Federation), Esayas Abraham (President, Eritrea Football Federation), Augustino Parek Maduot (President, South Sudan Football Association) and Alexandre Muyenge (President, Burundi Football Federation). Federation of Kenya Football (FKF) Acting President is the only candidate for the women representative e vying}

_{“The elections will be looking to fill the position of Zonal President and four EXCOM members. Subject to the ratification of the general Assembly and CAF Approval, the General Assembly will also be looking to fill the newly created EXCOM position of Women representative,” added Gecheo.}

_{The 12 members of CECAFA include; Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti and Zanzibar.}

_{The elections for new office bearers for the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) will take place during the Elective General Assembly slated for January 6th, 2023 in Zanzibar.}

_{Auka Gecheo, the CECAFA Executive Director confirmed on December 6th, 2022 that the CECAFA Elective General Assembly will take place at Hotel Verde Zanzibar.}

_{According to the programme the members will also discuss and ratify the CECAFA competitions and the calendar for 2023/2024, they will also receive, discuss and ratify a proposal on the amendments of the CECAFA Statues,  appoint auditors, receive and peruse the CECAFA Financial Reports for the Years 2022.}

_{The General Assembly which will have two members represent each of the 12 members will see the President, Vice Presidents, Members of the Executive Committee and chairpersons of the Standing Committees of the Zone elected.}

_{Wallace Karia, also President of the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) is the current President of CECAFA, while Francis Amin (South Sudan) is the 1st Vice President and Isayas Jira, also the President of the Ethiopia Football Federation (EFF) is the 2nd Vice President.}

_{The 12 members of CECAFA include; Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania and Zanzibar.}

_{The Elective Ordinary Assembly of the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) will take place on January 6th, 2023 in Zanzibar.}

_{The decision was made on Thursday during the CECAFA Extra Ordinary Assembly held at the Ewa Hotel in Khartoum, Sudan}

_{“I am glad that the Assembly has agreed that the Elective Assembly takes place in Zanzibar,” said the CECAFA Executive Director, Auka Gecheo.}

_{During the Extra Ordinary Assembly which was also graced by FIFA officials managing the FIFA Regional Office for Eastern Africa in Kigali, Rwanda Davis Ndayisenga and Abigail Lemma Haileichael, the CECAFA President, Wallace Karia said it is important as members in the Zone to work together.}

_{“We always need to work together as members in the Zone and take them to CAF as a block,” said Karia. The members of the Assembly also agreed that they write to CAF to amend the tough rule where a whole team is sent out of a Boys U-17 tournament if even one player fails a Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test.}

_{The Assembly also approved a proposal to amendment of the CECAFA constitution and passed the financial reports for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021.}

_{Tanzania also accepted to be on stand by to host the CAF Pan African Schools tournament in December this year since there is an Ebola scare in Uganda. “We are ready to host the Schools tournament incase Uganda cannot,” said the Vice President of the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF), Athumani Nyamlani.}

_{The members in the Assembly also agreed that they pick the two members from the CECAFA Zone from Rwanda and Somalia already serving on the CAF referees Committee and also send three names for the Women. CAF requested Member Associations to send names of persons who will be considered when picking the referees committee.}

_{Dr. Mutasim Jaafar Sarkhatm, President of the Sudan Football Association (SFA) said they are happy to be hosting the U-20 AFCON qualifying tournament and the Extra Ordinary Assembly as well. He also congratulated South Sudan for qualifying for the U-17 and U-20 AFCON.}

_{The Extra Ordinary Assembly was attended by delegates from Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Burundi, Uganda, Djibouti and Zanzibar, Kenya did not send a representative because they are still serving a FIFA suspension.}