Kagame shows club cup is his

Feb 13, 2002

THE winner of the CECAFA Club championships in Zanzibar will get a $30,000 (sh52m) cash prize courtesy of Rwandan president Paul Kagame.

By Reuben Olita in NairobiTHE winner of the CECAFA Club championships in Zanzibar will get a $30,000 (sh52m) cash prize courtesy of Rwandan president Paul Kagame.Kagame(picture right) is sponsoring the east and central Africa club competition that has been named after him.Nicholas Musonye, the secretary of the Council of East and Central Africa football Associations(CECAFA) revealed the offer in Nairobi yesterday.Musonye said the runners up will pocket $20,000 while the third-placed team will receive $10,000. He said the cash rewards will raise the stature of the annual regional competition, and increase competition.The CECAFA boss said the good news to regional clubs was communicated to him yesterday by the president of the Rwanda football federation(Ferwafa) Col.Ceasar Kayizari who also announced that a new trophy worth US$5,000 had been purchased ready for the championships that kicks-off on Saturday.“This is the first time an individual has come to the support of Cecafa. We take this opportunity to thank Kagame for the kind gesture which will go a long way in revamping the game in the region,” an excited Musonye told The New Vision.Musonye said Kagame's donation followed fruitful discussions between Cecafa president Farah Addo and himself during last December's Senior Challenge Cup in Kigali.Hailing the move by Kagame yesterday, CAF official Addo, who is currently in France said this was the sort of high level support that soccer in East and Central Africa needed to thrive.“ The government of Rwanda cherishes the importance of the game in the region, thus its commitment to pump in colossal amounts of money into it,” he said, adding that the move would inspire teams participating in the event.SC Villa may benefit from the latest developments if they win the event that will run from Saturday to March 3 at the Amaan Stadium with 10 teams taking part.Tusker of Kenya are the regional defending champions.ends

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