Al Wadi FC will open their campaign against JKU SC in a Group A encounter at the KMC Stadium in Kinondoni as the CECAFA Dar Port Kagame Cup 2024 kicks off on July 9^th in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

According to the fixtures released on Thursday morning three other matches will be played on Day 1 of the regional tournament.

The second Group A match that will see take place will see Tanzania’s representatives in the 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup, Coastal Union FC face Somalia giants Dekadaha.

Ugandan side SC Villa will kick start against El Merriekh Bentiu FC (South Sudan) in a Group C match to be played later in the evening on July 9^th at the Azam Complex, Chamazi.

SC Villa who recently lifted the Uganda Premier League title after 20 years of waiting since they last won it are not strangers in this regional tournament having won the Cup three times. El Merriekh Bentiu, the 2023/2024 South Sudan League champions will be making their debut in the CECAFA Dar Port Kagame Cup.

The last match on Day 1 will see Rwanda Premier League champions APR FC will battle Singida Big Stars FC (Tanzania) in a Group C match at the Azam Complex, Chamazi.

Yusuf Mossi, the CECAFA Competitions Manager says July 11^th will be a rest day, before action resumes the next day with four matches on card. The last group matches will be played on July 16^th, while the semi-finals take center stage on July 19^th.

The top teams in each of the three groups, and the best runner-up will qualify for the semi-final stage. The play-off match to determine which team finishes third and the final will all be played on July 21^st at the Azam Complex, Chamazi.

The draw for the CECAFA Dar Port Kagame Cup 2024 has been conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Kenya Premier League champions Gor Mahia have been placed in a Group of death (B) that also has Al Hilal (Sudan), Red Arrows (Zambia) and Djibouti Telecom FC.

The season opening tournament will take place July 9^th-21^st at the Azam Complex in Chamazi and KMC Stadium in Kinondoni.

Baraka Kizuguto, the CECAFA Football Development Director who conducted the draw at the Azam studio said they expect a very competitive tournament since teams will be preparing for the CAF competitions that start in August.

Group B has Tanzanian side Coastal Union FC, Al Wadi FC (Sudan), JKU SC (Zanzibar) and Somalia’s Dekedaha FC. Group C which looks very tough on paper has two former champions SC Villa (Uganda), Apr FC (Rwanda), Singida Black Stars FC (Tanzania) and Al Merriekh Bentiu (South Sudan).

The last time the regional tournament was held in 2021 in Dar es Salaam, Uganda’s Express Fc beat Nyasa Big Bullets FC from Malawi 1-0.

Group A

Coast Union FC, Al Wadi FC, JKU SC, Dekedaha FC

Group B

Al Hilal, Gor Mahia FC, Red Arrows FC, Djibouti Telecom FC

Group C

SC Villa, APR FC, Singida Black Stars FC, El Merriekh Bentiu

Guest side Kenya have picked their second win in the on-going Hollywoodsbets COSAFA Cup 2024 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Austin Odhiambo and Benson Omalla netted second half goals to ensure Kenya’s Emerging Stars defeated Zimbabwe 2-0 in the Group B match.

Kenya kick started their campaign with a 2-0 win against defending champions Zambia, but suffered a similar 2-0 defeat to Comoros in their second match.

While Comoros have qualified for the semi-final stage after beating Zambia 1-0 in a match played on Tuesday and topping the group, the Kenya Emerging Stars will keep their fingers crossed ahead of tomorrow’s Group C matches, so that they can finish as best runners-up.

Mozambique who topped Group A have also qualified for the semi-finals, while Angola and Namibia each have four points ahead of their last Group C matches on Wednesday.

The tournament that has attracted 12 teams and organized by the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) will climax with the final on July 7^th, 2024.

The Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) has confirmed that twelve teams will tussle it out in the CECAFA Kagame Cup 2024.

Tanzania will host the tournament which runs July 9-21 in Dar es Salaam at the Azam Complex in Chamazi and KMC Stadium in Kinondoni.

The draw for the tournament will be conducted on July 3rd, 2024 in the Azam TV studio in Dar es Salaam. Azam TV are one of the partners of CECAFA.

“Although we had initially planned to have 16 teams, we have been forced to reduce on the numbers and also change the dates because of some challenges. But we believe this tournament will give our teams in the Zone a good platform to prepare well ahead of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup,” says the CECAFA Executive Director John Auka Gecheo.

He made it clear that the Zambia Premier League Champions Red Arrows FC will be the only guest side that will play in the tournament.

The twelve teams will be placed in three different groups with four teams each. The top teams from each group and the best runner-up will automatically qualify for the semi-final stage.

Confirmed teams

Coastal Union FC, Singida Black Stars FC (Tanzania)

Al Hilal, Al Wadi FC (Sudan)

Gor Mahia FC (Kenya)

SC Villa (Uganda)

Djibouti Telkom FC (Djibouti)

Dekedaha FC (Somalia)

APR FC (Rwanda)

JKU SC (Zanzibar)

El Merriekh Bentiu (South Sudan)

Red Arrows FC (Zambia)