Kenya's Wellingtone Ochieng' (right) vies for the ball with Burundi's Moussa Omar during their Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup semi-final match at Moi Stadium Kisumu on December 14, 2017.
One year to its centenary, the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) Senior Challenge Cup is struggling to stay alive.
Started in 1926 as the Gossage Cup, this annual tournament is Africa’s oldest regional football competition.
Sadly, the competition has not been held since 2019.
Once a vibrant tournament involving 11 member associations, namely, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Burundi, Somalia, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and South Sudan, it faces an uncertain future, even with talk of a competition being held next year.
According to Andrew Oryada, the Cecafa Head of Marketing and Communications, the absence of the tournament for the last five years is due to financial constraints, congested fixtures and some member associations lacking proper facilities.
Oryada says that after the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2019, and disrupted businesses worldwide, Cecafa failed to secure sponsorship, leading to the pause of the tournament.
He, however, noted that sponsors have started coming back, while member associations are eager to see the competition resume.
“It has been a big challenge for us to get back the Challenge Cup, but I can assure you that starting next year, the tournament will most definitely be back,” said Oryada in an interview with
Burundi's Pierre Kwizera (left) vies for the ball with Harambee Stars forward Vincent Oburu during their Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup semi-final match at Moi Stadium in Kisumu on December 14, 2017.
“Many of the companies are getting back, which for us is good news. Members have asked and said that we have missed the Challenge Cup this year. We need to make it happen next year,” he added, noting that the dates for the tournament will be decided during the general assembly that will be held either early next year.
Former Cecafa Executive Director Auka Gecheo was heavily criticised for not regularly holding the Senior Challenge Cup during his tenure, which started in March 2020. He was suspended on September 22, and his position was given to former Uganda women’s footballer Jean Sseninde in an acting capacity. Under veteran administrator Kenyan Nicholas Musonye, as secretary general, from 2001 to 2020, the Senior Challenge failed to take place three times.
In fact, before 2016, the Senior Challenge Cup only failed to take place 10 times -- 1927, 1933, 1934, 1986, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2014, 2016, and 2018.
Insisting that Cecafa was at “a better place now”, Oryada reckoned that holding the Senior Challenge Cup next year will be significant since it will mark the 100th anniversary of the first competition.
Oryada revealed that hosting a successful Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup requires about $400,000 (about Sh51.7 million). He said they are considering incorporating the centenary celebrations in next year’s tournament.
Oryada cited the sponsorship of this year’s Cecafa Kagame Cup by gaming firm Betika to the tune of Sh42 million as one of the indications that corporates are now willing to support Cecafa’s activities.
Harambee stars mid fielder Haji Mwachoki (right)dribbles past Taifa Stars opponent during a past CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Oryda said, because of the congested football calendar, Cecafa faced the challenge of getting foreign-based players to play and “add vibe to the tournament”.
He said hosting the tournament would also help Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania prepare for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals that the three countries are co-hosting.
“I’m very sure a Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup next year will ignite a lot of good things ahead of the 2027 Afcon. Apart from the national teams’ preparations, it will give the fans a lot of morale ahead of Afcon,” he said.
According to Oryada, the lack of proper facilities in the region has also proved to be a challenge.
With the successful co-hosting of Chan early this year, this should not be a problem anymore, at least for the three nations.
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