Thirteen clubs have already confirmed their participation in this year’s Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (Cecafa)/Kagame Club Championship set for July 12-26 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Cecafa Secretary General Nicholas Musonye told Times Sport early this week by phone from Nairobi, Kenya that the number of clubs which will take part in this year’s Kagame Cup has risen from 11-13 clubs. Defending champions, APR have confirmed as well as 12 other clubs from member states, Musonye confirmed. He further added that the draws will be done early next month ahead of the championship in July. We have witnessed the positive changes in the region’s football in sponsorships and football development projects. We wish to see the effect of these on our football, he said. He noted that, all clubs would want to impress because the world had taken keen interest in East African football. According to Musonye, Dar es Salaam’s main stadium, currently under construction, is the most likely venue for the two-week long championship. Construction work at the stadium is almost complete. We are very positive everything will be ready before July, said Musonye. Confirmed clubs to this year’s Kagame Cup tournament include; Kenya’s Tusker FC, which has been barred from continental championships due to a debt the Kenya Football Federation (KFF), owed the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and now has a chance to showcase their supremacy in the regional competition. Rwanda will be represented by defending champions APR and Rayon Sport while last year’s losing finalists, Uganda Revenue Authority is also on the list of participants. As the host nation, Tanzania will enjoy an advantage of fielding two teams and will be represented by Yanga and Simba football clubs. Other clubs which have confirmed include Vital’O of Burundi, Al Hilal of Sudan, Miembeni FC of Zanzibar, Ten-Ten FC from Eritrea, Awassa City of Ethiopia, Banaadir Telecom of Somalia and AS Compagnie of Djibouti respectively. Ends
