The Legends: Past Cecafa Club Championship Winners

Congratulations to Tanzania’s Yanga Football Club for winning the 2012 Cecafa Kagame Cup.

The Tanzanian outfit beat fellow Vodacom league team Azam FC 2-0 in the finals on Saturday to retain the title they won last year. It was the first time the club was defending the title having failed to do it previously and it was their fifth title in history.

Kawowo sports’ Ismael Kiyonga brings you all the previous winners of the tournament and some interesting facts about the competition that is named after Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame since 2002 a year he started sponsoring it.

In this article, we get to know the winners, year and the country of the champions.

Let’s get started with the history:

The championship began in 1967 but was not recognized until 1974. Kenya’s Abaluyha FC won it in 1967 beating Tanzania’s Sunderland 5-0 in the finals but the competition was halted till 1974 when it officially began.

Only five countries have managed to produce winning clubs with Kenya leading on 15, followed by Tanzania on 11, Uganda 5, Rwanda 4 and Sudan 2.

Amazingly, only 4 Kenyan clubs (Gor Mahia, Tusker FC, Abaluyha FC and AFC Leopards) have won it, Tanzania has only 2 (Yanga and Simba), Uganda 3 (SC villa, KCC FC, and Police FC), Sudan 1 (El Merrickh), Rwanda 3 (Rayon Sport, APR and Atraco FC).

Tanzania’s Simba SC has won it a record 6 times followed by Yanga Africans, Kenya’s trio of Gor Mahia, AFC Leopards and Tusker on 5 times. Uganda’s SC Villa follows with 3 titles and then Rwanda’s APR FC with 2 titles. The rest have won it once.

List of Cecafa Interclub Winners Since 1974

Year           Winner                                                           Year             Winner

1974    Simba SC (Tanzania)                                         1993    Yanga FC (Tanzania)

1975    Yanga FC (Tanzania)                                          1994    El Merrickh (Sudan)

1976    Luo Union FC (Kenya)                                        1995    Simba SC (Tanzania)

1977    Luo Union FC (Kenya)                                        1996    Simba SC (Tanzania)

1978    KCC FC (Uganda)                                               1997    AFC Leopards (Kenya)

1979    Abaluyha FC (Kenya)                                          1998    Rayon Sport (Rwanda)

1980    Gor Mahia (Kenya)                                              1999    Yanga FC (Tanzania)

1981    Gor Mahia (Kenya)                                              2000    Tusker FC (Kenya)

1982    AFC Leopards (Kenya)                                      2001    Tusker FC (Kenya)

1983    AFC Leopards (Kenya)                                      2002    Simba SC (Tanzania)

1984    AFC Leopards (Kenya)                                      2003    SC Villa (Uganda)

1985    Gor Mahia (Kenya)                                             2004    APR FC (Rwanda)

1986    El Merrickh (Sudan)                                           2005    SC Villa (Uganda)

1987    SC Villa (Uganda)                                              2006    Police FC (Uganda)

1988    Kenya Breweries (Kenya)                                 2007    APR FC (Rwanda)

1989    Kenya Breweries (Kenya)                                 2008    Tusker FC (Kenya)

1990    Not Held                                                               2009    Atraco (Rwanda)

1991    Simba SC (Tanzania)                                        2010    Not Held

1992    Simba SC (Tanzania)                                        2011    Yanga FC (Tanzania)

2012    Yanga FC (Tanzania)