Uganda misses out on CECAFA Kagame Cup as NEC withdraws

Uganda will not field a representative in this year’s CECAFA Kagame Club Championship after NEC FC withdrew from the tournament in Tanzania.

NEC had been selected to replace Vipers SC, who earlier pulled out citing scheduling conflicts and player fatigue following international duty.

However, the Diehards also opted out, leaving Uganda without a team in the prestigious regional competition.

The club had planned to use the Kagame Cup in Dar es Salaam as a warm-up for their maiden CAF Confederation Cup campaign later this month. CECAFA had already placed NEC in Group B alongside Rwanda’s APR, Burundi’s Bumamuru, and Zanzibar’s Mlandege.

Their withdrawal marks a second consecutive setback for Uganda, following Vipers’ decision to focus on preseason preparations ahead of the Uganda Premier League and CAF Champions League.

The Kagame Cup runs from September 2 to 15 across four venues in Tanzania.

The tournament kicked off on Tuesday, September 2, with Kenya Police FC making a strong statement in Group A. The Kenya Premier League champions thrashed Djibouti’s Garde Cotes FC 4–0 at the Gen. Isamuhyo Stadium.

Eric Zakayo opened the scoring in the 19th minute before David Simiyu doubled the lead. Baraka Badi and Edward Omondi added two more goals in the second half to seal a dominant victory.

In the day’s other Group A fixture, Ethiopian Coffee SC held Tanzania’s Singida Black Stars FC to a goalless draw despite playing with 10 men.

Goalkeeper Ibrahim Donald was sent off in the 51st minute for handling the ball outside the box, but the Ethiopians held firm to secure a valuable point.