THE East and Central African football Association (Cecafa) is on the hunt for a lasting sponsor for the Kagame Cup and Senior Challenge Cup according to the body’s President Leodegar Tenga.

Tenga, who also doubles as president of the Tanzanian football federation told Times Sport on Tuesday that the regional football body is chasing for a long-term sponsor to supplement President Paul Kagame’s annual contribution to the annual event.

"First of all, we are very grateful to His Excellency President Kagame’s contribution over the years and Rwanda’s willingness to host this year’s edition which promises to be the most competitive ever.”

"But our main priority now is to get a permanent sponsor and we believe we can get there next year,” Tenga said.
This year, the government has injected $1m (Rwf 550m) in the Kagame Cup. The amount will cater for accommodation and travelling expenses for all participating teams, referees and officials.

As usual, President Kagame has chipped in $60,000 to be shared by the top three teams at the end of the two-week event which kicks off May 15 in Kigali.

Twelve teams are in contention this year. Rwanda’s football giants APR are placed in Pool A alongside TP Mazembe, Burundi’s Vital’O and Telkom of Djibouti.

Rayon Sport will face Ethiopia’s St. George, Nigeria’s Heartland and Mafunzo of Zanzibar in Pool B while Pool C pits reigning champions Atraco with Kenya’s Sofapaka, Uganda Revenue Authority and Tanzania’s Simba.

After the preliminary stage, the top two sides in each pool together with the top two third –placed sides will proceed to the quarterfinal.

Atraco romped to last year’s title after a shock 1-0 win over hosts El-Merreikh in the final. It was the biggest upset in the competition’s 34-year history not only because it was the taxi-men’s debut in the event but also because El-Merreikh had hammered Atraco 6-1 in the group stage.

The tournament will be jointly held at Amahoro and Regional stadium.

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