Sudan, Ethiopia carry Cecafa flag at Afcon 2021
Cecafa’s hope. Sudan and Ethiopian players during a past match. The two nations will represent Cecafa bloc at the Cameroon 2021 edition. PHOTO/AGENCIES
What you need to know:
- After abysmal qualification campaigns from Uganda – which was at the last two editions – and its neighbours, the region are back to where it started with Sudan and Ethiopia.
Former Africa Cup of Nations winners and hosts; Sudan and Ethiopia are the Cecafa region’s only representatives at the 33rd edition of the continental showpiece that kicks off on January 9 in Yaounde, Cameroon.
Cecafa nations have had some memorable experiences with tournaments in central Africa.
The 1972 edition in Cameroon, for example, marked Kenya’s first appearance at the showpiece. When Afcon returned to central Africa – after 40 years – in 2012, Sudan also broke its 36-year absence from a tournament it helped pioneer.
Ditto Uganda at Gabon 2017 after a 39-year jinx. It is only at 2015 edition that Cecafa did not have a representative in a tournament hosted in Central Africa.
Unfortunately, this inconsistency in terms of representation continues to bite each Cecafa nation differently and now comes on the back of having had Uganda, Burundi, Kenya and Tanzania at the 2019 edition in Egypt.
After abysmal qualification campaigns from Uganda – which was at the last two editions – and its neighbours, the region are back to where it started with Sudan and Ethiopia.
Both nations were pioneers of this continental event in 1957 in Sudan but have struggled to establish themselves as a continental force like fellow pioneers – record winners Egypt with seven titles.
Sudan, winners at home in 1970, have been to seven out of 33 editions of Afcon with their longest absence stretching from 1978 to 2010. Their latest appearance came in 2012 when Gabon and Equatorial Guinea shared hosting rights.
Ethiopia, on the other hand, have had 10 appearances. But seven of those came in the first seven editions that also included a triumph as hosts in 1962. They also hosted in 1968 and 1976.
Their last appearance in 2013 in South Africa came after a 31-year absence stretching back to Libya 1982.
However, it must be noted that the finals tournaments in themselves have historically been tough for the Cecafa nations with only Sudan having managed a quarter final appearance in 2012.
Afcon: Editions without Cecafa reps
Ivory Coast 1984
Egypt 1986
Tunisia 1994
South Africa 1996
Burkina Faso 1998
Ghana & Nigeria 2000
Mali 2002
Egypt 2006
Ghana 2008
Angola 2010
Equatorial Guinea 2015
Cecafa reps over the years
1957: Sudan (hosts), Ethiopia
1959: Sudan, Ethiopia
1962: Ethiopia (hosts), Uganda
1963: Ethiopia, Sudan
1965: Ethiopia
1968: Ethiopia, Uganda
1970: Sudan, Ethiopia
1972: Kenya, Sudan
1974: Uganda
1976: Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia
1978: Uganda
1980: Tanzania
1982: Ethiopia
1988: Kenya
1990: Kenya
1992: Kenya
2004: Kenya, Rwanda
2012: Sudan
2013: Ethiopia
2017: Uganda
2019: Uganda, Kenya, Tz, Burundi
