The Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) have voted a new executive Committee to be headed by Paulos Weldehaimanot Andemariam for the next four years.

The CECAFA Elective General Assembly attended by all 11 Member Associations and graced by FIFA, CAF and other stakeholders took place at the Djibouti Palace Kempinski on Saturday.

Weldehaimanot, also President of the Eritrea National Football Federation (ENFF) was elected unopposed.

President of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA), Moses Hassim Magogo and Alexandre Muyenge, President of the Burundi Football Federation (BFF) had earlier withdren their candidature for presidency.

“I declare Weldehaimanot Andemariam the new President of CECAFA,” announced Jean Sseninde, the CECAFA Interim Executive Director.

President of the Somali Football Federation (SFF), Ali Abdi Mohamed is the new Vice President, while Francis Amin Michael and Shema Ngoga Fabrice, Presidents of the South Sudan Football Federation (SSFF) and Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA) respectively.

“I thank the Assembly for having confidence in me. I promise that we shall be very accountable with a lot of integrity and also make sure we get more sponsors,” said the new elected President of CECAFA.

Fezal Ismael Sidat, the 5th Vice President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) speaking on behalf of the President Dr. Patrice Motsepe congratulated the new leadership of CECAFA. “We thank CECAFA for the continuous work they are doing and congratulate them that they will host AFCON 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda,” added Sidat.

Gelson Tavares Fernandes, Director of Member Associations at FIFA also congratulated the newly elected leadership of CECAFA. “On behalf of the FIFA President Gianni Infantino, we thank all members. We shall stand with you and we expect commitment, engagement and hard work,” he added.

New CECAFA Executive Committee

President: Paulos Weldehaimanot Andemariam (Eritrean National Football Federation)

All Federation

Vice President: Ali Abdi Mohamed (Somali Football Federation)

Executive Committee

Francis Amin Michael (South Sudan Football Federation)

Shema Ngoga Fabrice (Rwanda Football Federation)

The government of Djibouti has applauded the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) for the continuous efforts in Football development in the region.

Abdoulkader Hossein Omar, the government spokesman and Minister of Foreign Affairs made the remarks while official opening the CECAFA Elective General Assembly at the Djibouti Palace Kempinski on Saturday.

“We are very happy to receive the Football family in Djibouti. I bring greetings from the President of Djibouti and he is happy to welcome leaders of African Football to Djibouti,” said Omar.

He thanked CECAFA for the good work that has been showed over the years which has contributed to more development of Football. “We also thank the Djibouti Football Federation for the good work they are doing and constantly trying to develop Football infrastructure in the country,” added the Minister.

Souleiman Waberi, the Djibouti Football Federation President and FIFA Council member thanked all the members for coming to Djibouti to attend the Assembly. “We are very excited as a country to receive Football stakeholders in our country and to host a CECAFA Assembly,” added Waberi.

The 5^th Vice President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Fezal Ismael Sidat, also the Mozambique FA President on behalf of the CAF President thanked CECAFA for the successful Assembly”On behalf of CAF and the President Patrice Motsepe, we congratulate CECAFA for holding a successful Assembly,” he added.

Gusau Ibrahim Musa, President of the West African Football Union (WAFU) B who is also President of the Nigeria FA, Lamin Kaba Bajo who is the WAFU A President and also President of The Gambia FA, together with the President of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA), also President of the Comoros FA Said Athouman Said Ali also attended the Assembly.

FIFA Council Members Djibrilla Hima Hamidou (Niger) and Ahmed Ould Yahya, also the President of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Cameroon FA President and CAF Exco member Samuel Eto and Ivory Coast FA President and CAF Exco member Diallo Vaccine Indris will also attend.

CAF Director of Member Associations, Sarah Mukuna and FIFA Regional Development Office head Davis Ndayisenga also graced the Assembly among others.

Apart from delegates from the 11 members Associations of CECAFA, the Elective General Assembly was also attended by members from FIFA, CAF, sponsors Azam TV and other stakeholders.

Three CAF Zonal Union Presidents will grace the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Elective General Assembly to take place in Djibouti on February 7^th, 2026.

The Assembly which will bring together representatives from all the 12 Member Associations in the Zone will take place at the Djibouti Palace Kempinski.

“We have several guests from CAF, FIFA, Member Association Presidents, Zonal Union Presidents and sponsors who will attend the Assembly,” says Jean Sseninde, the CECAFA Interim Executive Director.

Gusau Ibrahim Musa, President of the West African Football Union (WAFU) B who is also President of the Nigeria FA, Lamin Kaba Bajo who is the WAFU A President and also President of The Gambia FA, together with the President of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA), also President of the Comoros FA Said Athouman Said Ali will attend the Assembly.

FIFA Council Members Djibrilla Hima Hamidou (Niger) and Ahmed Ould Yahya, also the President of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Cameroon FA President and CAF Exco member Samuel Eto and Ivory Coast FA President and CAF Exco member Diallo Vaccine Indris will also attend.

CAF Fifth Vice President Sidat Fezal Ismael, also the Mozambique FA President, CAF Director of Member Associations, Sarah Mukuna and FIFA Regional Development Office head Davis Ndayisenga will also grace the Assembly among others.

Apart from electing new office bearers, the Assembly will also also approve the 2026 CECAFA budget and adopt the CECAFA competitions calendar 2026 among others things.

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

Final list of the candidates for different CECAFA positions

# Candidates for CECAFA President

Paulos Weldehaimanot Andemariam (Eritrean National Football Federation)

Eng. Magogo Moses Hassim (Federation of Uganda Football Associations)

Alexandre Muyenge (Fédération de Football du Burundi)

# Candidate for CECAFA Vice President

Ali Abdi Mohamed (Somali Football Federation)

# Candidates for CECAFA Executive Committee

Francis Amin Michael (South Sudan Football Federation)

Shema Ngoga Fabrice (Fédération Rwandaise de Football Association)

The Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) has today held a successful Ordinary General Assembly at Imperial Plaza, Hotel in Juba, South Sudan.

All the 12 Member Association attended the Assembly that was also graced by officials from FIFA and CAF.

Dr. Joseph Geng Akech, the South Sudan Minister of Youth and Sports while opening the function thanked CECAFA for finally bringing the Assembly to South Africa.

“We thank CECAFA for accepting to bring this Assembly to South Sudan and the South Sudan Football Association for making sure the country hosts this big event,” added Dr. Akech.

He highlighted that sports and Football in particular brings about peace, unites people together and also gives young people livelihood.

Wallace Karia, the CECAFA President also thanked all members for gracing the Assembly in Juba. He highlighted that it was a second year that the CECAFA Zone had a team qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup after Tanzania in 2022 and Kenya last year. He made it clear that CECAFA has continued to improve and also have several tournaments which give member Associations the opportunity to compete and improve.

On behalf of the South Sudan Football Association (SSF), Gen, Agustino Maduot Parek, the President thanked CECAFA for having trust in South Sudan to be able to host the Assembly for the first time. “We want to thank CECAFA for giving us this opportunity and the government of South Sudan under the leadership of Salva Kiir Mayardit for giving us the blessing to have this big event take place here,” added Parek.

Djbrilla Hima, President of the Niger Football Federation also thanked CECAFA for inviting him and Presidents from other Zones to the Assembly. “We are happy to see the great unity among CECAFA members,” he added.

The other guests who graced the Assembly included President of WAFU A, Bajo Lamin Kaba, President UNIFAC, Maolas Jean Guy Blaise and the Vice President of WAFU B Gasua Ibrahim Musa, also President of the Nigeria Football Federation.

CAF was represented by the Head of Member Associations, Sarah Mukuna and Genan Muhamed, while FIFA was represented by the head of FIFA Office in Rwanda, David Ndayisenga, and Abigail Lemma Hailemicheal.

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Several guests including representatives from Azam TV also attended the Assembly which saw members approve the the budget for 2025 and also agree on the tournaments that will be held this calendar year.