FKF Premier League champions Gor Mahia will represent Kenya at the 2026 CECAFA Kagame Cup after securing qualification by lifting the 2025/26 league title, with the regional club championship set to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 24 to August 8.
K'Ogalo headline a strong field of confirmed clubs for this year's tournament, which will serve as a key build-up event ahead of the start of the CAF inter-club competitions in September.
Rwanda will host the competition at Amahoro Stadium and Kigali Pele Stadium.
The 12-team tournament will bring together some of East and Central Africa's biggest clubs, including Tanzania giants Simba SC, Uganda's Vipers SC, Sudanese heavyweights Al Hilal SC and Al Merrikh SC, Rwanda's APR FC and Rayon Sports, South Sudan's Jamus FC, Somalia's Mogadishu City FC, Djibouti's FC Garde Républicaine and Zanzibar champions KVZ FC.
CECAFA has confirmed that the 12th and final participating team will be announced on July 6.
Gor Mahia earned their place in the tournament by winning the 2025/26 FKF Premier League, returning to a competition that has historically featured the region's domestic champions and leading clubs.
The tournament presents an opportunity for the Kenyan champions to test themselves against elite opposition while sharpening their squad before continental football begins later this year.
CECAFA Interim Executive Director Jean Sseninde said the championship will play an important role in preparing clubs for the upcoming CAF competitions.
"We are excited that this tournament will give the 12 teams a platform to prepare well ahead of the CAF competitions kicking off in September 2026," said Sseninde.
She also confirmed that Ethiopia, Eritrea and Burundi will not field representatives in this year's edition.
One of the major attractions of the tournament will be the return of Simba SC, who will compete in the Kagame Cup for the first time since 2018. The Tanzanian giants remain the competition's most successful club, having won the title a record six times.
The defending champions are Singida Black Stars of Tanzania, who lifted their maiden CECAFA Kagame Cup title in 2025 after defeating Sudan's Al Hilal SC 2-1 in the final. Clatous Chama scored both goals to inspire Singida to a memorable victory and end APR FC's hopes of reclaiming the regional crown after the Rwandan side settled for third place.
For Gor Mahia, the tournament represents more than just regional silverware. It offers the newly crowned Kenyan champions an early opportunity to measure themselves against some of the strongest clubs in the CECAFA region, fine-tune their squad, and build momentum ahead of what promises to be another demanding campaign on both the domestic and continental fronts.
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