Logistical hitch threatens Kenya U15 participation in CAF African Schools Championship

Football Federation of Kenya (FKF) has requested the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) to reschedule Kenya’s games for the CAF African Schools Football Championship CECAFA qualifiers, owing to late team arrival.

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FKF, in a Friday, 5 December letter to CECAFA Competition Director Yusuf Mossi, confirmed the participation of Kenya’s Boys’ and Girls’ Under 15 teams, but asked for their tournament fixtures to be moved, to allow them to participate fully without dishing out walkovers.

Fixtures for the zonal qualifiers set to take part in Uganda from Saturday, 6 to Tuesday, 9 December, were made official on Friday afternoon, with both Kenyan teams drafted as the teams to play the opening matches at 0900 EAT.

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That schedule, as per FKF Secretary General Harold Ndege, is not feasible, as the teams will only arrive in Kampala, Uganda, on the same day they are supposed to play.

“Please note that due to logistical timelines and ongoing coordination with relevant government departments, our delegation will arrive later than initially planned,” Ndege mentioned in the FKF letter, confirming that a contingent of 40 players and 12 officials left Kenya on Friday, 5 December, and were only expected to arrive in Kampala on Saturday morning.

Reacting to the tournament schedule, Ndege added: “However, due to the uncertainty surrounding our exact arrival time, we kindly request that both our Boys' and Girls' teams be scheduled to play their matches as the last fixtures of the day on 6th December 2025.

This will ensure that the children participate fully and avoid any walkovers caused by unavoidable travel delays.”

As per the fixtures, Kenya’s Boys’ team is set to play its opening Group A game against Burundi at St. Mary’s Kitende Stadium on Saturday at 0900 EAT, the same time the girls’ team will be taking on Group A opponents Rwanda at the Technical Centre in Kadiba.

As if that is not enough, the boys’ side is scheduled to play a later group game on the same day, against hosts Uganda at 1400 EAT.

The revelations by FKF, who in the letter also requested CECAFA to share contact details of their assigned team guide and hotel information, paint a grim picture of poor preparation, which now puts its respective teams on the backfoot, and on the verge of forfeiting games.

CECAFA confirmed the venue for the qualifiers on 8 November 2025, a timeline that looks to have come too late for FKF.

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Full FKF letter: