Kenya granted bid to host 2023 Cecafa U-18 tourney
By Charles.Thuku, April 13, 2023Confederation of African Football (CAF) has given Kenya the rights to host the 2023 Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) under-18 championships.
The tournament is scheduled to begin on June 3 and end two weeks later on June 17.
This is the first regional tournament to be hosted in Kenya since 2021 when the CAF Women Champions League CECAFA qualifiers were held in Nairobi.
In a statement, FKF Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Barry Otieno says the tournament reflects FKF’s twin priorities of youth and women development.
“We are happy to have the privilege to host this tournament. It aligns perfectly with our focus areas as a federation and we look forward to a fantastic showcase in June,” he said.
In the 2019 edition held in Uganda, the Kenyan U18 women finished third.
FKF has also bid to host the CECAFA U18 boys championships pencilled for November this year.
Otieno also lauded CECAFA’s decision to hand Kenya the 2023 CECAFA U18 Women’s Championship hosting rights, saying it is in line with the federation’s area of focus.
This is the first time Kenya is hosting a regional tournament in almost two years. The last tournament that was hosted in Nairobi was the CAF Women’s Champions League CECAFA qualifiers in 2021, where Vihiga Queens qualified for the continental showpiece for the first time ever.
Kenya had also expressed intentions to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with other countries in East Africa.
An official statement from the Presidential office said that the intention is to build a national team that can qualify for the 2030 World Cup. Kenya has never qualified for the World Cup.
The statement came shortly after FIFA decided to lift a suspension imposed on the Football Kenya Federation in February.
“The Council of Ministers noted that the organization of the cup in cooperation will show the power of sports in improving regional cooperation,” the statement said.