Kenya to host Cecafa Senior Challenge and Kagame Cup

Kenya will host both the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup and Kagame Club Championship this year, Secretary General Nicholas Musonye confirmed on Thursday.

Following months of speculation, Musonye announced that the Kagame Cup which was earlier scheduled for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in June will be held in December with Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions, Gor Mahia, and last year’s runner-ups Ulinzi Stars Kenya set to represent the country.

The Senior Challenge Cup will precede the club championship in November, for the first time since 2013 when Kenya lifted the trophy.

However, the dates are yet to be announced as the regional governing body, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and the new sponsors have not concluded on the final details pertaining the new calendar.

Musonye is optimistic despite the ‘tight schedule ahead’, the tournaments will be a success.

“I believe Kenya will organize a good tournament compared to 2013 which was shambolic. The Cecafa Kagame Cup will be held in Kenya where the host country will be represented by Gor Mahia and Ulinzi Stars but we are looking at adding another third team from Kenya, depending on whether all invited teams will confirm participation,” Musonye said while addressing journalists in Nairobi’s Nyayo Stadium.

According to Musonye, besides filling the June gap, having the Kagame Cup in December will be beneficial for the region’s clubs considering new Confederation of African Football (CAF) club competitions dates.

“Beginning next year, the group stage of both the Champions League and the Confederations Cup will have 16 teams. At least two or three clubs from this region should reach the group stage. Having the tournament in December will give our teams an opportunity to prepare well for the two continental competitions,” the CECAFA boss explained.

This means in CECAFA member countries, the top two clubs which play in continental football the subsequent year will almost have no time to build up for it.

While the answer to the Kagame Cup has been found, Musonye confirmed this year’s Nile basin tournament has been cancelled due to lack of logistics. He is however confident Uganda will host the Under-17 tournament in 2017.

At the same time, he challenged Harambee Starlets to use the inaugural CECAFA Women tournament slated for September 11 to 20 to fine tune their preparations for the November Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) finals in Cameroon.

“We are proud for our women’s team to have made it to the Cameroon AWCON, that’s why we deliberately fixed them in a group of four teams in the CECAFA tourney so that they have as many matches as possible.

“If they can go all the way to the finals, they have played six matches which will give them good platform for preparation. We have few months to AWCON and we want them to fly high our region’s flag in Cameroon.”

The long serving Secretary General has hinted the 2017 calendar will be flawless, having already secured sponsorship for most of its programs.

“We have worked so hard and from next year, we will have more programs. FIFA has also agreed to finance some our activities with emphasis on women and youth programs. We have sponsors ready for the tournaments and definitely, things will run better,” Musonye revealed.