Eight teams have confirmed participation in the forthcoming edition of the CECAFA Women’s Championship that is slated for later this month at the FUFA Technical Centre, Njeru in Uganda.
The championship returns after a 2 year break imposed by the Covid 19 pandemic and it will be the second time that Uganda is hosting the regional Championship that will run from May 22nd to June 5th. It was last held in 2019 hosted by Tanzania in Dar es Salaam where Kenya emerged champions overcoming the hosts in a tense final played at the Chamazi Stadium.
According to CECAFA Competitions Director Burundian Yussuf Mossi, eight teams have confirmed participation in the tournament. It will be the first Competition on the CECAFA football calendar 2022.
The national teams that have confirmed to join hosts Uganda in the CECAFA Women’s Championship 2022 include; Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Rwanda and Zanzibar
‘We have received confirmation from eight teams that beat the registration deadline last week. We are now planning to have the draw soon’ revealed Mossi as reported on www.cafonline.com.
‘We are confident that this tournament will be very competitive and will also give our two representatives in the TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Burundi and Uganda an opportunity to prepare well and get more match practice,” Mossi added.
Defending Champions to miss out;
Being one of the nations currently serving a FIFA suspension as a result of issues between the local FA and central government, the Kenya Harambe Starlets will not have an opportunity to defend the title they clinched after a 2-0 victory over Tanzania in 2019.
‘We have a comprehensive plan’ – CECAFA President
CECAFA President Tanzanian Wallace Karia also made it clear that as a regional body they have planned well for the tournaments in the 2022 season.
“We have decided to start with a women’s tournament since the Women’s AFCON will also take place in Morocco in July,” added Karia.
Crested Cranes set to enter camp
This week on Wednesday Crested Cranes Coach Lutalo George summoned a squad of 47 players amongst whom are 14 professionals to start preparations for the CECAFA championship which he intends to use to test and fine tune his charges ahead for the TotalEnergies Women’s AFCON in Morocco. The team will enter residential camp on Saturday May 7, 2022 at the FUFA technical Centre in Njeru.
Lutalo will be looking to become the first coach to lead the Crested Cranes to the CECAFA glory, a trophy that has eluded the team over and over again. Uganda narrowly missed out on goal difference in the 2018 edition hosted by Rwanda when Tanzania beat them with a superior goal difference. In the 2019 edition Uganda finished 3rd, whereas managed 4th place in the 2016 edition hosted in Njeru.
