• Kenya also hosted and won the 2013 edition at Nyayo Stadium, beating Sudan 2-0.
• Ethiopia was awarded CAF Women's Champions League qualifiers while Zanzibar will host the Pan Africa Schools championships.
Image: CECAFA
Zanzibar will host the 2024 Cecafa Senior Challenge following a general assembly sitting meeting in Mombasa.
Cecafa Cup returns after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic and related hurdles. Harambee Stars won the competition in 2017, beating the new hosts Zanzibar.
Kenya also hosted and won the 2013 edition at Nyayo Stadium, beating Sudan 2-0. Uganda hosted the last edition.
Isayas Jira, the Cecafa Vice President who is also the Chairman of the Competitions Committee said the decision was arrived at the Cecafa Executive meeting held on Thursday.
“We brought back the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup because of marketing issues,” said Jira. "We also appointed six members to make changes for our tournaments.”
The general assembly also confirmed the use of MRI scans in the Afcon U20 and U17 competitions this year. It also awarded Tanzania and Uganda the hosting rights for the Afcon U20 and U17 qualifiers respectively.
“We don’t want to send our players to Uganda and Tanzania to compete against over-age players. There will be a technical committee to conduct the MRI scans within the CAF requirements to ensure all players are within age,” said Jira.
Ethiopia was awarded CAF Women's Champions League qualifiers while Zanzibar will host the Pan Africa Schools championships.
“The participating teams must send names two weeks before the tournaments. For the competing countries, confirmation must be done 60 days to kick-off, and as like I said, the host nations must have MRI facilities,” added Jira.
President of the Zanzibar Football Federation (ZFF) Suleiman Mahmoud Jabir termed the return of the Senior Challenge CUp and the hosting rights as “our World Cup”.
“When I go back home I will be very happy. For us, the Senior Challenge Cup is like a World Cup and having it back will perhaps strengthen our teams and help more of them qualify for Afcon,” added Jabir.
CAF General Secretary Véron Mosengo-Omba attended the assembly accompanied by Sarah Mukuna (Director of Member Associations), Genan Korra (Head of Zonal Union Affairs), and the Director of Legal Affairs, Felix Majani.