Zanzibar claim CECAFA U-15 Boys Championship title after edging Uganda

Zanzibar have clinched the 2023 CECAFA U-15 Boys Championship after edging Uganda 4-3 in post-match penalties in the final staged in Njeru on Thursday.

The winner of the contest had to be decided in the shootout after the two sides labored for a one-all draw in regular time.

Lukman Omar gave Zanzibar the lead after 19 minutes, but the Uganda Rhinos responded with an equalizer after 30 minutes through Ibra Ssebagala. The two teams failed to find more goals in the second half.

But Zanzibar’s goalkeeper Mahir Amour who was also the hero when they ejected South Sudan in penalties at the semi-final stage rose to the occasion to stop two penalty kicks to ensure his team won 4-3.

” The boys have worked hard to become champions, ” said a happy Zanzibar coach Mohamed Mrishona Mohamed after the match.

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In an earlier match, Tanzania beat 10-man South Sudan 1-0 in the play-off to finish third to pick the bronze medal.

Seleman Kaniki scored the lone goal in the second minute of added time going into the interval. After 88 minutes South Sudan’s Victor Elizaya was sent-off for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Uganda’s Owen Mukisa was voted Best Player, while Zanzibar’s Amour was the best goalkeeper. Lazarus Peter George from South Sudan who netted eight goals scooped the top scorers’s gong. Ethiopia won the Fair Play trophy.

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The Awards ceremony was attended by the President of the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Wallace Karia and the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) President Moses Magogo.

The eight teams that took part in the regional Championship include; Zanzibar, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Somalia.

Additional Reporting by CECAFA media