THE 2024 CECAFA Kagame Cup tournament is still shrouded in uncertainties with a few days to its official kick-off.

Growing up, the CECAFA Kagame Cup used to be huge and there were so many epic games, unlike this edition where there is no buzz for a tournament that is meant to bring together regional giant clubs.

Instead negative reports about the tournament are hitting the press. Although there is no official statement from the organisers yet, media reports indicate at least four teams have pulled out of the tournament.

Azam, Burundi’s Vital’O, Malawi’s Nyasa Bullets, and TP Mazembe have pulled out. Top drawers Simba and Young Africans are also unlikely to participate as it stands.

Simba will travel to Egypt for a training camp as part of their preparations for the 2024/25 domestic and international campaign. 

According to club media officer Ally Ahmed, the club is set to leave for Egypt during the first week of July.

Young Africans are yet to confirm their pre-season plans but they are mulling overseas pre-season training tours that collide with the Kagame Cup schedule.

While each club has its own valid reasons for withdrawing or delaying to confirm participation in CECAFA Kagame Cup, if they could be honest without ramifications they would confess they see little value in this tournament in its current format.

It wouldn’t be surprising if these clubs are asking themselves; ‘What on earth are we going to do in the Kagame Cup?’

What can’t be disputed is that the tournament has lost its lustre. Back then, clubs would not miss a chance to participate in the CECAFA Kagame Cup.

Fast forward to the last edition held in Tanzania in 2021, Young Africans and Azam used their third string sides. Their squads were mainly composed of youth and fringe players. Simba did not even bother to participate.

It was a low-key affair on and off the stadiums. The fans stayed away from attending the tournament games. Obviously, to them, it’s not value for money. They can’t part with their hard-earned money to watch Young Africans U-20 playing Azam fringe players.

We can’t go on like this where the tournament has lost its identity and appeal, yet it rumbles on and on and on. Something has to change.

For the Kagame Cup tournament to remain relevant it has to take a different direction. The question is which direction would make the regional tournament relevant again?

The task is a daunting one and it needs people to think outside the box. CECAFA president Wallace Karia believes the tournament's major challenge is the calendar.

“The calendar has been tight. Clubs and national teams have had commitments and they are the ones who provide the players for the competition,” Karia said during the CECAFA General Assembly early this year.

“We need to look at the best way to play Kagame Cup but we will also go back to President Paul Kagame and ask him which ways he can support and increase the prize money because our teams are now big and cannot play competitions for little money.”

The tournament’s major challenge indeed is that it is held between June and August when most teams are either featuring in international competitions or the pre-season ahead of a new campaign.

However, is the tournament actually relevant anymore? The expansion of the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup means the big regional clubs' objectives have changed.

Winning the Kagame Cup is good but not good enough. Qualifying for the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup group stages is more prestigious and lucrative than winning the Kagame Cup.

We can’t say the Kagame Cup is completely outdated but the aura of the event has greatly diminished with more East African clubs making the CAF inter-club competitions their main priority.

Team officials and players no longer put much value into the regional tournament. They see it as an inconvenience to their continental targets. 

The CECAFA Kagame Cup in its current format doesn't seem all that important in the modern football landscape.

It comes as no surprise that with every edition, nations are opting against hosting it while more clubs are declining the invitation to take part, putting more pressure on the organisers over the viability of the tournament.