The Council for East and Central Africa Football Association (Cecafa) has confirmed that the 2018 Senior Challenge Cup will not be taking place after failing to get a host nation. The regional tournament was scheduled for late this month. Efforts to reach Nicholas Musonye, the Cecafa secretary general, were fruitless but media reports from Kenya quoted him as saying: “The council completely failed to find new hosts after Kenya turned down the hosting rights.” “It is regrettable that we cannot have the competition, we tried to get alternatives, but the timing was also inconvenient because of Caf Champions League and Confederation Cup whose preliminary matches will be played late November and early December,” said Musonye. Kenya was handed the hosting rights last year after beating Zanzibar in the final to lift the title. In August, the regional body was thrown into panic after the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) announced that financial constraints would not allow them to host the championship. On rather an encouraging note, this year’s Cecafa U-20 championship will be held – in Uganda. Cecafa comprises ten CAF member associations namely, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Sudan, South Sudan as well as the horn of Africa countries of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti. In most cases, Zanzibar take part in the competition as an independent member. Cecafa Senior Challenge – the continent’s oldest football competition – has been irregular since its inception in 1926, with the tournament having also not been held in 1986, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2014 and 2016. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
