SINGIDA Black Stars will finally make their CECAFA Kagame Cup debut, having been placed in Group A following this season’s tournament draw conducted yesterday morning in Nairobi.

The Singida-based side will represent Tanzania in the regional championship by virtue of finishing in the top four last season. The tournament has been set to take place from September 2-15 in Dar es Salaam, with matches scheduled to be held at the Azam Complex Stadium at Chamazi, KMC Complex, and Major General Isamuhyo Stadium.

Singida Black Stars have been placed in a competitive pool, Group B, that includes FKF Premier League champions Kenya Police FC (Kenya), Garde-Côtes FC (Djibouti), and Ethiopian Coffee SC (Ethiopia).

The other groups feature equally strong lineups, given that the showdown's Group B is made up of, among others, the previous season’s finalists APR FC (Rwanda). NEC FC (Uganda), Bumamuru (Burundi), and Mlandege (Zanzibar) complete the group.

Group C contenders are Al Hilal Omdurman (Sudan), Al Ahly SC Wad Madani (Sudan), Kator FC (South Sudan), and Mogadishu City Club (Somalia). Speaking after the draw, CECAFA Executive Director, Auka Gecheo, said the tournament will play a vital role in preparing clubs for continental football.

“This competition will also help our teams in the region to prepare ahead of the 2025/26 CAF competitions, which kick off next month,” Gecheo stated. The regional football governing body also announced a new sponsorship deal for the tournament with a local gaming firm.

Paulos Weldehaimanot Andemariam, CECAFA vice-president, described the partnership as a turning point for the tournament. Andemariam noted: “We are pleased to enter into this. With them as the official sponsor, we are taking this great tournament into a new era.”

The CECAFA boss revealed: “This partnership reflects the power of collaboration between football and the private sector, and it demonstrates the confidence that partners have in the value and potential of CECAFA competitions.”

CECAFA expects that the tournament will be a good platform to help teams prepare well ahead of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup. Last year, Zambia Super League side Red Arrows FC emerged as the CECAFA Kagame Cup champion.
 
The Zambian outfit, battling it out as a guest side, defeated Rwanda’s APR FC in a penalty shootout of the final played at the KMC Complex. For the second consecutive year, Tanzanian giants Simba SC and Young Africans SC (Yanga) have opted out of the CECAFA Kagame Cup.

Both clubs, which have been a major presence in the tournament in the past, cited their pre-season preparations as the primary reason for their withdrawal. The decision allows the two clubs to focus on their personal schedules, which include the Community Shield final and the Mainland Tanzania Premier League season opener on September 16. Their absence means that Tanzania's sole representative in the tournament will be Singida Black Stars FC, the runner-up in the Federation Cup.