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East African nations have not hosted the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup for four years, raising concerns about its future.
Since 2020, the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) has faced growing criticism over its failure to host the prestigious CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup, the oldest football tournament in Africa.
This long-standing competition has not taken place in the last four years, sparking concerns that it may be on the verge of irrelevance.
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Addressing these concerns, CECAFA Executive Director Auka Gacheo, who will mark five years in the role in March 2024, attributed the situation to several challenges.
“Bidding to host is an entirely different issue. It involves infrastructure and availability of all the requirements. So, it is a totally different discussion from having the tournament itself because if we have two or three members who can consistently host the tournament, then we have no reason why we should not hold it,” he noted in an interview with Monitor.
The tournament's absence has raised eyebrows among football enthusiasts, especially given its rich history in fostering regional unity and competition.
Gacheo explained that the packed schedules of member associations and competing priorities have made it difficult to find an ideal slot in the football calendar.
“I think we’re victims of the success of football over the years. When you look at when Kagame [CECAFA Club Championship] and Challenge Cup were big a few years ago, the leagues were not as vibrant as they are today, and the national teams were not as competitive as they are now,” Gacheo said.
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He pointed to the increasing participation of member associations in high-stakes tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup, Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), and African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers as key factors that have strained resources and squeezed the calendar.
Another significant challenge, according to Gacheo, is the financial burden on member associations.
Many nations are already grappling with the costs of competing in various international tournaments, leaving little room for additional commitments.
“This year alone, most of our members are competing in the World Cup, AFCON, and CHAN qualifiers. This is making it very difficult for us to find a period in the calendar where we can fix the tournament,” he said.
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Gacheo dismissed claims that member associations are shunning CECAFA tournaments, citing logistical and academic conflicts as additional hurdles.
“For example, this year we’ve had our members participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. The other challenge is that the countries have different academic calendars, which has affected the age-grade tournaments,” he explained.
Solutions in sight?
Despite these setbacks, Gacheo expressed optimism about reviving the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup.
He revealed plans to adopt a format inspired by the UEFA Nations League, which could provide a structured and flexible approach to scheduling.
“We’re trying to explore and see how we can get our nations to play against each other by adopting a Nations League kind of format like what they’re doing in Europe. We can pick a period when there are no qualifiers and then fix it because this tournament is very important to us and the people in the region,” he said.
CECAFA has already seen success with similar strategies in other tournaments.
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For instance, the Kagame Club Cup has been restructured as a preseason competition, preparing teams for domestic and continental campaigns.
“It worked very well last year and can work well as a preseason tournament to prepare the teams for the continent,” Gacheo added.
While the road to reinstating the Senior Challenge Cup remains challenging, CECAFA’s leadership is committed to ensuring the tournament’s legacy endures.
The hope is that with strategic planning and member cooperation, the region’s oldest football competition can soon reclaim its rightful place in the spotlight.
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