Musonye steps down as Cecafa enters new era
What you need to know:
Karia was elected unopposed at Cecafa's Annual Congress in Kampala on the eve of the Senior Challenge Cup final between hosts Uganda and Eritrea
South Sudan's Amin Francis and Eritrea's Esayas Abraha were elected vice-president whilst Jira Isayaa and Ssekamana Jean from Ethiopia and Rwanda respectively were elected as board members
Long serving secretary general Nicholas Musonye also reiterated his decision to stand down and confirmed he will be trying his hand in politics
Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) boss Wallace Karia was Wednesday evening elected Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) president.
Karia was elected unopposed at Cecafa's Annual Congress in Kampala on the eve of the Senior Challenge Cup final between hosts Uganda and Eritrea.
He replaces Sudan Football Association boss Mutassim Gafar and will serve for a four-year term. The 56-year-old immediately pledged to unite member nations and strive to improve standards of football in the region.
"There's urgent need to improve on the standards of football in the region. Women, youth and beach beach football will form Cecafa's pillars. We will run this show in a consultative formula and each member shall have a voice," said Karia.
South Sudan's Amin Francis and Eritrea's Esayas Abraha were elected vice-president whilst Jira Isayaa and Ssekamana Jean from Ethiopia and Rwanda respectively were elected as board members.
Long serving secretary general Nicholas Musonye also reiterated his decision to stand down and confirmed he will be trying his hand in politics with his eyes trained on the Kakamega gubernatorial seat in 2022.
"I will remain for sometime to ensure smooth transition. But you know I told you my time here is almost up after 20-years. I am happy with the achievements we have managed during my tenure," said Musonye.
Cecafa is home to 12 member football associations including Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Ethiopia.
The region is perceived as the weakest in terms of quality of football talents in Africa and the member nations have for sometime suspiciously eyed each other with suspicion of religious and intra-region affiliations.
Cecafa has in the past two years received Sh200 million from Fifa for development of women and youth football plus administrative costs and has since been holding tournaments to promote these talents.
