The Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) has selected 19 referees who will officiate the CECAFA Kagame Cup 2026.
Twelve teams will tussle it out in the regional tournament that takes place July 24th to August 7th in Kigali, Rwanda.
“We have selected match officials from different countries. They started preparing as a group in Kigali on Tuesday and hope to deliver a good tournament,” said Ali Ahmed, the CECAFA head of refereeing.
He explained that the region is training more and more referees taking into account that the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027 will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Nine referees and 10 assistant referees have been selected to officiate the Club regional competition that returns to Rwanda since 2019.
The tournament kicks off on Friday with Vipers SC (Uganda) facing Garde Republicaine FC (Djibouti), while APR FC (Rwanda) take on Gor Mahia FC (Kenya) in Group A matches.
Referees: Samuel Uwikunda (Rwanda), Dickens Mimisa (Kenya), Saddam Houssein Mansour (Djibouti), Nasir Salum Siyah (Zanzibar), Ahmed Arajiga (Tanzania), Dick Okello (Uganda), Abdifatah Said Mire (Somalia), Malong Ring (South Sudan), Sabri Muhammad Fadi (Sudan).