Nicholas Musonye, the Cecafa secretary general, says he has been impressed by the level of competition and ‘neat organization’ of the 2019 Cecafa Kagame Cup, which concluded last night in Kigali. During a press conference at the Rwanda Football Federation’s headquarters on Saturday, Musonye was full of praise for Rwanda for – at such a short notice – setting the bar high for the next hosts. Rwanda was only awarded the rights to host the East and Central Africa’s premier club competition in May, just six weeks before the July 6 kick-off. “The organization was splendid, and the level of competition was the highest we have had in a long time. Teams gave a great show to the fans,” said Musonye. Ugandan champions KCCA clinched the title and USD 30,000 (about Rwf27million) in cash prize after beating Azam, of Tanzania, 1-0 in the final at Kigali Stadium. Azam, winners of the competition’s 2015 and 2018 editions, pocketed USD 20,000 (Rwf18million) while Zambia’s Green Eagles, who beat DR Congo’s AS Maniema 2-0 in the third-place match, received USD 10,000. It is KCCA’s first Cecafa title since 1978. Rwandan teams; APR, Rayon Sports and Mukura all suffered early exits from the tournament, with the latter bowing out in group stages, while APR and Rayon were brushed aside in the quarter-finals. The last time Rwanda hosted the tournament, in 2014, APR lost 1-0 to Sudanese giants Al-Merrick in the final. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
