Football

CECAFA KAGAME CUP: Gor Mahia drawn against Al Hilal from Sudan and Djibouti's Telecom FC

Gor Mahia line up before a past match. Photo courtesy

By Michael Kirwa | Wednesday, July 3, 2024

The competition’s format will see the teams first compete in a round-robin group stage from which the top teams in each group and the best-placed second place team will proceed to the semifinals.

Record Kenyan league champions Gor Mahia have been drawn in Group B of the 2024 CECAFA Kagame Cup together with Sudanese powerhouse Al Hilal Omdurman, 2023-24 Zambian Premier League champions Red Arrows, and former Djibouti Premier League champions Telecom FC. Red Arrows, who belong to the COSAFA region, are competing as the tournament’s only guest team.

The competition will feature 12 teams drawn from Djibouti (1), Kenya (1), South Sudan (1), Sudan (2), Rwanda (1), Uganda (1), Tanzania (2), Zambia (1), and Zanzibar (1).

Somalia is represented by five-time Somali Premier League winners Dekedaha FC who have been pooled in Group A with Coastal Union (Tanzania), Al Wadi FC (Sudan), and JKU (Zanzibar).

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South Sudanese representatives El Merreikh Bentiu are one of the four teams forming Group C along with reigining Ugandan Premier League champions SC Villa, current Rwanda Premier League champions APR Rwanda, and Singida Black Stars who finished 11^th in the 2023-24 Tanzania Premier League.

The draw was held on Wednesday afternoon in Dar es Salaam where the competition will be hosted from July 9 to July 21. The matches will be played at two venues: Azam Complex in Chamazi and KMC Stadium in Kinondoni.

The competition resumes after a three-year lull since Tanzania last hosted in 2021 when Express of Uganda defeated Nyasa Big Bullets 1-0 to win the tournament.

The 2021 edition had no Kenyan representation since it was played at a time when the country was suspended by FIFA. Kenyan clubs last appeared in the tournament in 2019 when the nation was represented by Bandari and Gor Mahia, with the former suffering elimination in the Group Stages and the latter getting eliminated in the quarterfinals by Green Eagles of Zambia.

This year’s edition has attracted 12 teams, despite the organisers sending invitations to 16 clubs.

“Although we had initially planned to have 16 teams, we have been forced to reduce on the numbers and also change the dates because of some challenges. But we believe this tournament will give our teams in the Zone a good platform to prepare well ahead of the 2024-25 CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup,” CECAFA Executive Director John Auka Gecheo said in a statement released by CECAFA on Tuesday.