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2014 Cecafa tourney cancelled

December 14th, 2014 1 min read

The 2014 edition of the annual Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup tournament has been cancelled. This was confirmed on Sunday afternoon, during a meeting consisting the regional body’s representatives at a Nairobi hotel, which was attended by 12 Football Association chairmen from East and Central Africa, including Zambia FA President Kalusha Bwalya.

“We failed to secure a host (nation) for this event, but still, the funds available were nowhere near enough,” Cecafa Secretary General Nicholas Musonye told journalists at a press briefing at the function.

The Senior Challenge Cup is a popular football competition that draws membership from upto 14 national teams from among them Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan and Somalia.

GUEST TEAMS

The tournament has in the past attracted guest teams such as Malawi, Ivory Coast and Zambia. Kenya’s Harambee Stars are the defending champion having clinched the crown courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Sudan in Nairobi last year.

The gathering also resolved to form a technical committee that will study and possibly change the structure of competition in upcoming events, from the current “unfashionable” model of transporting and facilitating all the expenses of upto 14 teams in one country for upto 16 days in a bid to lower the costs of staging the events.

“We are disappointed the Cecafa tournament has not taken place, but am excited because all member nations of this prestigious region are determined to make this event happen next year,” Uganda FA President Moses Magogo told Nairobi News.

The meeting also resolved to unanimously back the incumbent Sepp Blatter at the Fifa Presidential elections slated for next year. The 78 year old is bidding for re-election for a fifth four-year term.