Kenya to host CECAFA U-18 Women’s championship

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FOOTBALL Kenya to host CECAFA U-18 Women’s championship

Festus Chuma 13:41 - 10.04.2023

This will be the first tournament on the 2023 CECAFA calendar.

Kenya is set to host the inaugural Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA ) U-18 Women's Championship.

CECAFA Secretary General Auka Gecheo confirmed on Monday the tournament will be held in Nairobi from June 3-17th, 2023.

The regional football governing body also revealed Kenya is bidding to host the 2023 CECAFA U-18 Boys Championship scheduled for November 25th to December 9th.

Already Uganda has stepped in to host the 2023 CECAFA U15 Boys championship, with the date and venues expected to be communicated later.

Pan African Schools Championship CECAFA, CECAFA Kagame Cup, and the CECAFA U-23 Championship are the other events set to take place this year.

"We have two Member Associations that have applied to host four tournaments in 2023, and we shall communicate the hosts of the other three tournaments later," said Gecheo.

The U-18 Women's Championship will be the first event in their calendar, and all CECAFA members are expected to confirm their participation in the tournament.

The last time Kenya hosted a CECAFA-organized event was in 2021 which was the CAF Women's CAF Champions League qualifiers.

Eight teams took part in the event, which faced delays because of logistical challenges experienced by the regional body.

Vihiga Queens were crowned the inaugural winners of the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) FC.

Last year, CECAFA announced the cancellation of the Kagame Club Championship in order to focus on 2023.

Kagame Cup is a popular regional football competition that draws membership from up to 14 Premier League champions from member countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, and Somalia.

The tournament has attracted guest teams such as TP Mazembe, Nyasa Big Bullets, and AS Vita.

Uganda's Express FC are the defending champions, having clinched the crown following a 1-0 victory over Nyasa Big Bullets in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania last year.