NEC Football Club have withdrawn from the 2025 CECAFA Kagame Cup, less than a week after being confirmed as Uganda’s representatives.
The Diehards had replaced Vipers SC, who pulled out citing scheduling conflicts and player fatigue from international duty.
NEC were expected to use the regional competition in Dar es Salaam as preparation for their maiden CAF Confederation Cup campaign later this month.
CECAFA had already conducted the draws, placing NEC in Group B alongside Rwanda’s APR, Burundi’s Bumamuru, and Zanzibar’s Mlandege.
Their withdrawal now leaves a gap in the tournament, which runs from September 2 to 15 across four venues in Tanzania.
The development means Uganda will not have a club in this year’s Kagame Cup (atleast for now).
It also marks the second successive withdrawal after Vipers opted out, saying they needed to focus on preseason ahead of the Uganda Premier League and CAF Champions League.
The Kagame Cup had been seen as a chance for NEC to gain competitive experience before their continental debut, but the club’s decision underlines the tight fixture schedules facing Ugandan teams ahead of the 2025/26 season.
