Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

CECAFA

Football organisation in East Africa

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

The Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (Swahili: Baraza la Mashirikisho ya Mpira wa Miguu Afrika Mashariki na Kati, French: Conseil des Associations de Football d'Afrique de l'Est et Centrale, Arabic: مؤتمر جمعيات شرق ووسط أفريقيا لكرة القدم, Amharic: የምስራቅ እና መካከለኗኛሙ አፍሪካ እግር ኳስ ማህበራት ምክር ቤት, Somali: Guddiga Kubadda Cagta Bariga iyo Bartamaha Afrika,Tigrinya: ቤት ምኽሪ ማሕበራት ኩዕሶ እግሪ ምብራቕን ማእከላይን ኣፍሪቃ officially abbreviated as CECAFA) is an association of the football playing nations in mostly East Africa and parts of Central Africa. An affiliate of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), CECAFA is the oldest sub-regional football organisation on the continent.

01CECAFA Address/Location

02History

The competition that would later evolve into CECAFA began in 1926 with the establishment of an annual match known as the Gossage Cup, making it the oldest international football tournament in Africa. The first recorded contest took place that year, with Kenya emerging victorious over Uganda in a replay after the initial match ended in a draw.

CECAFA was founded unofficially in 1927. The competition was sponsored by the major Nairobi-based soap-manufacturing firm Gossage, owned by the British Lever Brothers. Its formation is often misattributed to William Gossage, founder of the Gossage company. However, he died 50 years before the CECAFA was established.

Tanganyika (present-day mainland Tanzania) joined in 1945, and Zanzibar followed in 1949, expanding the field to four participating teams over time.

The tournament was known as the "Gossage Cup" until the 1960s, when it was redubbed the "East African Challenge Cup". This version of the tournament continued until 1971, after which the competition was reconstituted under the banner of the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup. The organizational body was formally established as a regional football association in 1973.

CECAFA's head offices are in Nairobi, Kenya, under the governance of the Council, which is affiliated with both CAF and FIFA.

03Member associations

04Broadcasting rights

In 2007, television rights for the tournament were sold to GTV. Since 2009, broadcasting of CECAFA competitions has been taken over by South Africa broadcaster SuperSport

05Kit Manufacturing

06Competitions

Current title holders

Competition Edition Champions Title Runners-up Next edition Dates
Men's national teams
Senior Challenge Cup 2019  Uganda 40°  Eritrea TBD
U-23 Challenge Cup 2021  Tanzania  Burundi TBD
U-20 Championship 2024  Tanzania  Kenya TBD
U-18 Championship 2023  Uganda  Kenya TBD
U-17 Championship 2025  Tanzania  Uganda TBD
U-15 Championship 2023  Zanzibar  Uganda
CECAFA African School Championship 2023 Royal Giants High School Geda Roble SS 2024
CECAFA Beach Soccer Championship 2025
Women's national teams
Women's Championship 2025  Tanzania 3rd  Kenya TBD
U-20 Women's Championship 2021  Ethiopia 1st  Uganda TBD
U-18 Women's Championship 2023  Tanzania 1st  Uganda TBD
U-17 Women's Championship 2019  Uganda 1st  Tanzania 2026 13-23 June
Girls Schools Championship 2023 FT Fountain Gate 1st Awaro SS TBD
Men's club teams
Kagame Cup 2024 Red Arrows APR FC TBD
Women's club teams
CAF Women's Champions League CECAFA qualifiers 2024 CBE F.C. 1st Kenya Police Bullets 2025

07Rankings

Football

FIFA Rankings (as of 20 July 2026)
CECAFA* FIFA +/ National Team Points
1 89  Uganda1264.09
2 109  Kenya1185.08
3 112  Tanzania1180.27
4 117  Sudan1157.22
5 128  Rwanda1126.62
6 142  Burundi1078.01
7 143  Ethiopia1077.52
8 169  South Sudan970.94
9 184  Eritrea887.06
10 196  Djibouti853.58
11 199  Somalia839.17
FIFA Rankings (as of 16 June 2026)
CECAFA* FIFA +/ National Team Points
1 122 1  Tanzania1129.13
2 128  Kenya1111.84
3 138 1  Ethiopia1068.12
4 145  Uganda1036.27
5 169  Rwanda892.39
6 179 1  Burundi822.1
7 194  Sudan628.74
8 195 1  South Sudan628.66
9 197 1  Djibouti556.64

Futsal

FIFA Rankings (as of 8 May 2026)
CECAFA* FIFA +/ National Team Points
1 125 4  Somalia816.42
2 134 2  Tanzania747.66
3 143  Kenya670.38
FIFA Rankings (as of 8 May 2026)
CECAFA* FIFA +/ National Team Points
1 74  Tanzania797.7

Beach Soccer

BSWW Rankings (as of 1 June 2026)
CECAFA* BSWW +/ National Team Points
1 44 1  Tanzania210
2 73  Kenya72.5
3 80 1  Uganda46.25
Watch videos about CECAFAExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article CECAFA, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.