Rwanda FA has announced that Amavubi will take part in the 2024 CECAFA Senior Challenge that will take place in Zanzibar.
Amavubi haven’t participated in the competition since the 2017 edition in Kenya, when they were eliminated from the group stages.
Zanzibar has not made the dates of the tournament public yet but Rwanda’s return to the regional football competition, after seven years, is a game-changer, according to federation Secretary-General Adolphe Kalisa.
Kalisa told Times Sport that CECAFA will help the national team players to get more matches in their legs and hence raise their level of performance during their future fixtures of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
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"CECAFA is a good tournament for our team and that's why we have to participate because it's part of our plan to play more games, whether for the big or small teams.”
"We will go to Zanzibar,” Kalisa confirmed to Times Sport.
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Rwanda previously participated in eight CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup finals since winning their only trophy in 1999 when they beat Kenya 3-1 at Amahoro National Stadium.
The competition marks its return after a five-year hiatus, mainly due to covid-19. The last time it took place was in 2019 when Uganda hosted it and went on to win it after beating Eritrea in the final.
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In addition to the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup, the CECAFA General Assembly held in Kenya over the weekend also awarded Zanzibar the rights to host the CAF Africa Schools Football Championship CECAFA Zonal qualifiers.
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Other hosting rights include Uganda for the AFCON U-17 Boys CECAFA Zonal qualifiers, Tanzania will host AFCON U-20 CECAFA Zonal qualifiers while Ethiopia were given hosting rights for the CAF Women’s Champions League CECAFA qualifiers and the CECAFA U20 Girls Championship.