Sunday, July 21
Final
APR vs Red Arrows, KMC Stadium.
Kick off Time: 18:00 CAT
Rwanda giants APR FC will lock horns with Zambian outfit Red Arrows FC in Sunday’s dicey final of the CECAFA Kagame Cup 2024 which concludes at KMC Stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
APR FC are on their quest for a fourth title, having won the regional club football competition on three occasions. Red Arrows, meanwhile, came into the tournament this year as an invited team from the COSAFA region.
Despite a not too impressive Group stage outing during which they suffered a 5-0 humiliation at the hands of Florent Ibenge’s Al Hilal, Red Arrows qualified for the semifinals as the best second-placed team. They then saw off Hay Al Wadi 2-0 in extra time book ticket to the final.
They will face APR FC who qualified to the final after eliminating AL Hilal with a 5-4 penalty shootouts victory after both sides played out a goalless draw in the course of 120 minutes.
APR are unbeaten so far this campaign. They beat Singida Black Stars and El Merreikh Bentiu 1-0 apiece before drawing 1-1 with SC Villa to finish at the top of Group C.
They also played stalemate with Al Hilal Omdurman before ousting them on penalties.
The Rwandan army club head into the final as firm favorites to win Sunday’s final but their head coach Darko Novic warned that his players have work to do to lift the trophy.
"We still have a lot of work to do because preparing for a final is very different especially after playing 120 minutes in the semi-final,” Novic told the press
The Serbian tactician could maintain the same starting 11 he used against Al Hilal. Man of the match Seidu Dauda Yussif, who made his first start against the Sudanese club, is expected to start again ahead of Taddeo Lwanga.
Red Arrows will be no pushovers. They are determined to fight to the end as they hope to win the competition for the first time.
Both Paul Katema and Allassane Diarra, who scored in club’s 2-0 extra time win over Hay Al Wadi in the last four, are expected to start in the final against APR. They will be crucial to the course of their side if they get the needed services.
APR's Victor Mbaoma, Gilbert Mugisha, Ramadhan Niyibizi and Mohamadou Sy must go all out against a fragile Red Arrows defense which conceded five against Al Hilal.
The only thing which can derail APR's trophy ambitions is complacency. If they remain focused and play according to Novic’s instructions, the Rwandan champions can bring the trophy to Kigali.
The CECAFA Kagame Cup is sponsored by the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame, Sudan Football Association (SFA), Dar Port through the Tanzania Ports Authority, and Azam TV.
The winners of the tournament will pocket US$30,000, the runner-up US$20,000, and the third placed team will have US$10,000.