Uganda’s Vipers beat Djibouti’s side as CECAFA Kagame Cup 2026 kicks off
Uganda’s Premier League reigning champions Vipers SC beat Garde Republicaine FC of Djibouti 3-0 in the opening Group A match as the regional East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Kagame Cup 2026 kicked off on Friday at the Amahoro Stadium in Rwanda’s capital Kigali.
Farouk Miya, former Uganda Cranes International netted a brace for Vipers in the first 38 minutes, while his compatriot Abdu Karim Watambala added the third goal before the break.
Miya scored the first goal in the 17th minute through a free kick and added the second after 38 minutes.
Djibouti’s team efforts to push forward, failed to break Viper’s defense.
Watambala netted the third goal in the third minute of added time through a close range.
Denis Jean Lavagne, the Vipers SC coach could not hide his excitement grabbing three points from their opening match.
“It is a good start with a win in the tournament,” he told reporters.
Rwanda’s APR FC was set to battle Kenyan champions Gor Mahia FC in the second Group A match of the day.
The regional tournament featuring 12 teams from nine countries will climax on Aug. 7 with the final.
Speaking to journalists Wednesday ahead of the start of the tournament, Paulos Weldehaimanot Andemariam said he was happy with Rwanda’s preparations.
He revealed that Rwanda has already shown interest in hosting the next three editions of the tournament, citing the country’s strong infrastructure and proven hosting capacity.
“Rwanda is going to host three more CAF Zonal tournaments this year and we thank them for coming forward to host them,” he added.
Andemariam said that CECAFA is working hard to grow the tournament so that it can attract more sponsors and teams from other Zones.
At the same press briefing, Richard Mugisha, the Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA) second vice president in-charge of development and technical assured all stakeholders and teams that the standard of the tournament will be very high in all aspects.
He called upon fans to come in big numbers to cheer the teams and watch good football.
The champions will pocket 30,000 U.S. dollars, the runners-up 20,000 U.S. dollars while the third placed team 10,000 U.S. dollars, according to the organizers.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has contributed the prize money towards the tournament since 2002.
