The stage is set for the return of East and Central Africa’s premier club football tournament, with CECAFA confirming that the official draw for the 2026 CECAFA Kagame Cup will take place on July 10 in Kigali.
Twelve of the region’s top clubs are preparing to discover their group-stage fate ahead of the tournament, which is scheduled to run from July 24 to August 7, 2026, across Rwanda’s capital.
This year’s edition carries immense prestige, highlighted by the long-awaited return of Tanzanian giants Simba SC, a side making its first appearance in the regional tournament since 2018.
As a six-time champion, Simba’s presence adds significant heavyweight character to a field that also features defending champions Singida Black Stars, who claimed the previous title in Dar es Salaam.
Host nation Rwanda will be strongly represented by local powerhouses APR FC and Rayon Sports FC, both of whom are expected to draw massive home crowds to the stadiums.
The tournament features a diverse and highly competitive lineup representing nine different football associations across the CECAFA zone.
Joining the Rwandan and Tanzanian contenders are historic Sudanese rivals Al Hilal and El Merriekh, both eager for competitive continental action.
Uganda’s Vipers SC and Kenya’s Gor Mahia FC bring immense domestic pedigree to the tournament, while South Sudan’s Jamus FC, Somalia’s Mogadishu City FC, Zanzibar’s KVZ FC, and Djibouti’s FC Garde Républicaine round out the ambitious 12-team field.
Organisers have structured the tournament into three groups of four teams each, utilising a format designed to ensure high-stakes football from the opening whistle.
Only the top team from each group will automatically progress to the semi-finals, leaving the single best second-placed team across the entire tournament to claim the fourth and final wildcard spot in the knockout stage.
With many of these clubs utilising the Kagame Cup as a vital testing ground ahead of the upcoming continental CAF club competitions in September, the tournament promises to be one of the most fiercely contested iterations in recent history.
