This archive report was first published on 20 July 2019.
On July 20, 2019, Cecafa secretary general Nicholas Musonye spoke out against teams that he claims are undermining competitions organized by the regional body.
Musonye made the comments at a press briefing in Kigali, Rwanda, where he also outlined the preparations ahead of the Cecafa Kagame Cup final between Uganda's Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) and Tanzania's Azam.
According to Musonye, teams from Sudan, Ethiopia, Burundi, and Eritrea have developed a habit of shunning Cecafa competitions, and the tournament organizers have opted to replace them with guest teams.
"Our teams (from the Cecafa region) did not perform very well at the (just concluded) Africa Cup of Nations and that's because we do not prepare well, play enough games. We lack ambition," said Musonye.
He also urged Cecafa member countries, particularly Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Sudan, to try and qualify for the next edition of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021.
Some coaches, including Gor Mahia's Hassan Oktay, have been criticized for their lack of ambition, with Oktay recently suggesting that he only used the Cecafa championship as part of his pre-season preparations.
Similarly, top Tanzanian clubs Simba and Yanga opted out of the competition due to "other commitments."
"We have witnessed good football here in Rwanda. Some coaches failed to perform and came up with excuses. Some clubs opted out but we still had a full house as 16 clubs turned up. We did not miss them," Musonye said.
Musonye also announced a calendar change of events, where next year's Senior Challenge Cup tournament involving national teams and the club championships will be held in June and July 2020, respectively.
