The Council of East Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) has announced the return of the CECAFA Kagame Cup which will attract 16 teams.

The tournament returns after a two-year hiatus since 2021 when it last took place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania the same country which will host the 2024 edition from July 20 to August 4.

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Of the 16 participants, 12 teams are from member associations, including Zanzibar, and four other invited teams.

"We are glad that this tournament will be returning after two years to provide a brilliant preseason platform for the teams to prepare better before the start of the 2024/25 CAF Champions League and CAF Confederations Cup and the different leagues back home,” said CECAFA Executive Director John Auka Gecheo in a statement released on Tuesday, May 12.

The last time the tournament took place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 2021, Uganda’s Express FC beat guest side Malawi’s Nyasa Big Bullets 1-0 in the final.

CECAFA member associations include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Zanzibar, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, and Djibouti.

Currently, APR Football Club is the only Rwandan team guaranteed a spot in the 2024 tournament after winning the 2023/24 Primus National League over the weekend.