By Kei Emmanuel Duku
Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (CECAFA) has approved five zonal competitions for the 2025/26 season, including the inaugural CECAFA Beach Soccer Championship.
The decision was made during the CECAFA General Assembly held in Juba on Wednesday.
The competition calendar, presented by Auka John Gecheo on behalf of the competition committee chairman, Isayas Jira Bosho, was carefully structured to avoid clashes with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) tournaments.
During the general assembly, delegates agreed to stage the CECAFA Beach Soccer Competition for the first time in the history of the association in Kenya between May, 31st and June 7th, 2025.
Some of the approved competitions include the Senior Women and Men’s Challenge Cup.
The Zonal body agreed to have the inaugural CECAFA Beach Soccer Competition in Kenya between May 31st to June 7th, while the CECAFA Senior Women’s Challenge and the CECAFA Senior Men’s Challenge Cup have also been lined up.
The initially named Kagame Cup has seen its name changed to Dar Port Kagame Cup for sponsorship reasons after Tanzanian, Dar es Salaam Port authorities obtained sponsorship deals will take place from August 31st to September 14th, and the CAF Women’s Champions League, and CECAFA qualifiers.
While speaking to the media after the General Assembly, Wallace Karia CEACFA President urged Member Associations to apply to host any of the tournaments that have been planned to run in the 2025 calendar.
He highlighted high-quality standard hotels, stadiums, and security as some of the prerequisites for hosting the competitions.
“The conditions for each tournament vary, so any country including South Sudan can bid to stage these games however it requires collaboration between government and respective association,” said Karia.
He added that government involvement in staging the competition is crucial in terms of availing funds for preparation and planning purposes as the work of the federation or association is to prepare teams participating in the competition.
The CECAFA region consists of 12 member associations mainly South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eretria, Djibouti, and Zanzibar.