The Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) will use this year’s Kagame Cup to aid the campaign against malaria, officials have declared.

Cecafa secretary general Nicholas Musonye said yesterday that the sports body shall liaise with the NGO, United Against Malaria (UAM) to assist the campaign against the killer disease.

UAM media and advocacy manager Fauziyat Abood said they will continue using the regional championship to fight against the disease as they have been doing in the last three years.

“We will place banners and posters on the grounds where Kagame Cup matches will take place with the aim of educating soccer fans about malaria. It must be noted that malaria kills a child every 60 seconds in Africa,” Fauziyat said. Kagame Cup matches attract top clubs from Cecafa member countries, 11 teams in all.

In another development, Cecafa has disqualified a Djibouti referee from the championship.

Musonye said the referee was disqualified after collapsing during assessment. He said the referee was already been put on a plane home for medical care.