APR of Rwanda and Singida United of Tanzania will replace Ethiopia’s St. George and Young Africans (Tanzania) at the forthcoming CECAFA Kagame Cup – slated for June 28 to July 12 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Ljubomir Petrović’s APR and Singida United are placed in Group C alongside Tanzanian champions Simba SC and Dakadaha of Somalia.
Young Africans pulled out of the region’s flagship tournament citing the need to recover after a rigorous season which left them with many injuries.
On the other hand, St. George, who were expected to make a comeback after a long absence on regional stage, withdrew to concentrate on defending their domestic league title.
The last minute inclusion of APR to East Africa’s biggest club competition means that Rwanda will have two teams at the two-week long tournament, along with Rayon Sports who have been drawn in Group B with Kenyan giants Gor Mahia, Lydia Ludic of Burundi and Djibouti’s Ports.
Twelve teams placed in three groups will compete for the regional honors with top two in each group and the best two second runners-up making it to quarterfinals.
The regional reigning champions, Azam FC, won the 2015 Cecafa Kagame Cup after beating Kenya’s Gor Mahia 2-0 in the final.
Groups
Group A: Azam (TZ), Vipers SC (UG), JKU (ZAN) and Kator FC (S.SUD) Group B: Rayon Sports (Rwa), Gor Mahia (KE), Lydia Ludic (BUR) and Ports (DJI) Group C: Singida (TZ), Simba (TZ), APR (Rwa) and Dakadaha (SOM) editorial@newtimes.co.rw