CECAFA

The Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (French: Conseil des Associations de Football d'Afrique de l'Est et Centrale, Arabic: مؤتمر جمعيات شرق ووسط أفريقيا لكرة القدم‎; officially abbreviated as CECAFA) is an association of the football playing nations in East and Central Africa. An affiliate of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), it is the oldest sub-regional football organisation on the continent.

History

CECAFA was founded unofficially in 1927. The competition was sponsored by the major Nairobi-based soap-manufacturing firm Gossage, owned by the British Lever Brothers. Its formation is often misattributed to William Gossage, founder of the Gossage company. However, he died 50 years before the CECAFA was established.

The tournament was known as the "Gossage Cup" until the mid-sixties, when it was redubbed the "East African Challenge Cup".

CECAFA's head offices are in Nairobi, Kenya. The first tournament was contested between Kenya and Uganda, which saw the Kenyan squad win the two legs 3-1 on aggregate.