The Secretary General of Cecafa, Nicholas Musonye, says he was struck by the level of rivalry and ‘ nice organisation ‘ of the 2019 Cecafa Kagame Cup, which closed last night in Kigali.
During a press conference on Saturday at the headquarters of the Rwanda Football Federation, Musonye was full of praise for Rwanda for setting the bar high for the next hosts at such a short notice.
Only six weeks before the July 6 kick-off, Rwanda was granted the rights to host the top club competition in East and Central Africa in May.
“The organization was splendid, and the level of competition was the highest we have had in a long time. Teams gave a great show to the fans,” said Musonye.
Ugandan KCCA champions clinched the title and a cash award of USD 30,000 (about Rwf27million) after beating Tanzanian Azam 1-0 in the final at Kigali Stadium.
Azam, winners of the 2015 and 2018 editions of the competition, pocketed USD 20,000 (Rwf18million), while Zambia’s Green Eagles, who beat DR Congo’s AS Maniema 2-0 in the third-place match, was awarded USD 10,000.
It is the first Cecafa title of KCCA since 1978.
Rwandan teams ; APR, Rayon Sports and Mukura all experienced early exits from the tournament, with the latter bowing out in group phases, while in the quarter-finals APR and Rayon were brushed aside.
Rwanda’s last host of the tournament, APR lost 1-0 in the final in 2014 to Sudanese giants Al-Merrick.