Tusker FC have been handed a place in the 2026 CECAFA Kagame Cup, stepping in for Sudanese giants Al Merreikh SC after the North African side withdrew from the tournament.
The Mozzart Bet Cup champions’ invitation comes as a fitting continuation of a season that has already delivered silverware, with Tusker lifting the domestic cup last month. Al Merreikh’s withdrawal was attributed to a delayed conclusion to their domestic season, which left them unable to commit to the CECAFA fixture list.
The Brewers now join eleven other sides from across the region for the 2026 edition of the prestigious regional tournament, which will run from July 24 to August 7 in Kigali, Rwanda. The 12-team format promises a competitive field drawn from across the CECAFA zone, giving Tusker a valuable opportunity for continental exposure ahead of their CAF Confederation Cup campaign later in the year.
The call-up also revives memories of a competition Tusker once dominated. The Brewers, playing as Kenya Breweries at the time, won back-to-back titles in 1988 and 1989, before further triumphs in 2000 and 2001. Their most recent conquest came in 2008, when they beat Uganda Revenue Authority 2-1 in the final in Dar es Salaam to lift their fifth Kagame Cup crown — a haul that puts them among the tournament’s most successful clubs alongside the likes of Simba SC and Young Africans.
Notably, Tusker remain the last Kenyan side to have won the competition, meaning this year’s entry gives them a shot at ending an 18-year wait to reclaim regional bragging rights, with fellow Kenyan giant Gor Mahia also confirmed for this year’s edition.
The official draw for the tournament will be conducted this Friday at 10 am in the press conference room of the Amahoro National Stadium in Kigali, where Tusker will discover their group opponents and path through the competition.
The Kagame Cup call-up adds another fixture to what is already shaping up to be a busy period for the Brewers, who are simultaneously preparing for their return to CAF continental football after securing qualification through their Mozzart Bet Cup triumph over Kenya Police FC. The club’s technical bench, led by coach Julien Mette, will need to carefully manage player workload and squad rotation as they balance participation in Kigali with preparations for the Confederation Cup preliminary rounds in September.
For Tusker, the timing could not be better. Having ended their season on a high after a disappointing ninth-place league finish, the Kagame Cup offers another chance to build momentum, test the squad against regional opposition, and carry their newfound winning mentality into the new campaign — while chasing a piece of history they once made their own.
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