| CECAFA/Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations Baraza la Mashirikisho ya Mpira wa Miguu Afrika Mashariki na Kati Conseil des Associations de Football d'Afrique de l'Est et Centrale مؤتمر جمعيات شرق ووسط أفريقيا لكرة القدم የምስራቅ እና መካከለኛው አፍሪካ እግር ኳስ ማህበራት ምክር ቤት | |
| Map: | Africa-countries-CECAFA.png |
| Mcaption: | CECAFA members |
| Formation: | 1926 (unofficial) 1973 (official) |
| Type: | Sports organization |
| Region Served: | East Africa |
| Language: | Swahili, English, French |
| Headquarters: | Nairobi, Kenya |
| Affiliations: | CAF, FIFA |
| Leader Title: | Executive Director |
| Leader Name: |  Auka Gecheo |
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; 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.
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.[1]
The tournament was known as the "Gossage Cup" until the mid-sixties, when it was redubbed the "East African Challenge Cup".its consisted of only 12 teams
CECAFA's head offices are in Nairobi, Kenya. The first tournament was contested between Kenya and Uganda, which saw the Kenyan squad win the two legs 3–1 on aggregate.
All associations that joined in 1973 were founding members of CECAFA.
Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) members are marked with an asteriskIn 2007, television rights for the tournament were sold to GTV.[2] Since 2009, broadcasting of CECAFA competitions has been taken over by SuperSport.[3] [4]
See also: List of association football competitions and FIFA International Match Calendar.
See also: FIFA International Match Calendar.
| Competition | Edition | Champions | Title | Runners-up | Next edition | Dates | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National teams | |||||||||
| Senior Challenge Cup | 2019 | 40° | 2024 | ||||||
| U-23 Challenge Cup | 2021 | 1° | TBD | ||||||
| U-20 Championship | 2022 | 5° | TBD | ||||||
| U-18 Championship | 2023 | 1° | TBD | ||||||
| U-17 Championship | 2022 | 1° | 2024 | ||||||
| U-15 Championship | 2023 | 1° | |||||||
| CECAFA African School Championship | 2023 | Royal Giants High School | 1° | Geda Roble SS | 2023 August | ||||
| National teams (women) | |||||||||
| Women's Championship | 2022 | 1° | 2024 | ||||||
| U-20 Women's Championship | 2021 | 1° | TBD | ||||||
| U-18 Women's Championship | 2023 | 1° | TBD | ||||||
| U-17 Women's Championship | 2019 | 1° | TBD | ||||||
| Girls Schools Championship | 2023 | FT Fountain Gate | 1° | Awaro SS | 2023 August | ||||
| Club teams | |||||||||
| Kagame Cup | 2021 |  Express FC | 1° | Big Bullets FC | 2024 | 9-21 Jul | |||
| Club teams (women) | |||||||||
| CAF Women's Champions League CECAFA qualifiers | 2022 | 1st | She Corporate FC | 2023 12-26 Aug | |||||