CECAFA draw unveiled, 12 teams in action
DAR ES SALAAM: The Tanzania Mainland envoys in the 2024 CECAFA Kagame Cup, Coastal Union and Singida Black Stars have been pooled in group A and C of the tournament respectively following the draw held in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
While Zanzibar representatives JKU FC is also pitted in group A alongside Coastal, Al Wadi (Sudan) and Dekadeha FC from Somalia in the competition is set to kick off from July 9th to 21st at the Azam Complex and Kinondoni Municipal Council (KMC) Stadium both located in Dar es Salaam.
It will be the first time for the newly constructed KMC Stadium to host such a big football competition which is expected to attract the attention of many football supporters in and outside the country.
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The venue located at Mwenge will be used as a home turf for the Premier League side KMC during their domestic competitions throughout the next season.
However, the country’s giants Simba, Young Africans, and Azam that were included in the initial list of the competing teams, opted to withdraw from the event citing poor timing as they expect to pitch pre-season training camps outside the country.
According to the draw conducted yesterday, group A comprises Coastal Union FC (Tanzania Mainland), Al Wadi (Sudan), JKU FC (Zanzibar) and Dekadeha FC (Somali).
Group B has Al Hilal (Sudan), Gor Mahia (Kenya), Red Arrows FC (Zambia), and Telecom FC (Djibouti) while Group C is made up of APR FC from Rwanda, Singida Blacks Stars FC of Tanzania and El Merriekh FC – Bintiu from South Sudan.
Meanwhile, both Coastal Union and Singida Black Stars have disclosed that they will utilize the weeklong tournament to gear up for the upcoming 2024/25 season, hence, a platform to sharpen their squads.
Coastal Union alongside Simba will feature in the CAF Confederation Cup (CAF CC)-the status they got after finishing last season in fourth and third places respectively.
On the other hand, newly introduced Singida Black Stars Coach Patrick Aussems has disclosed that he will use the CECAFA tournament to adjust to his new team ahead of next season’s league campaign.
The former Simba tactician was unveiled in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday as he gets back to work in the country’s top-flight league insisting that he is ready to do his best at the club.
“I have turned down many offers but when I got the one from Singida Black Stars, I was convinced…the management of this club is keen for success and I too like to succeed,” he said at a press briefing.
