Kenya withdrawal leaves Cecafa in a bind

Action from the 2013 Cecafa Cup: Sudan vs Rwanda

The Confederation of East and Central Africa Football Associations is looking for a new host for this year's Senior Challenge Cup after Kenya backed out.

Officials said Cecafa had sought Kenya's approval after original hosts Sudan withdrew from staging the annual tournament earlier this year, citing financial constraints.

"Kenya have told us that they are not ready to host the championships which was scheduled to kick-off in late November to early December," Cecafa secretary Nicolas Musonye said.

"We are now back to negotiating with Sudan again to see if they can agree to have the event back in Khartoum.

"Hopefully we should be able to get a conclusive reply by Friday."

Uganda are the reigning champions after winning the trophy for a record 14th time in Addis Ababa last December.

Musonye said Kenya, Challenge Cup hosts in 2013, have accepted to take over as hosts of the 2016 Kagame Club Cup instead.

Tanzania, pulled out of staging the event last August due to their congested league programme.

Kenya is also preparing to stage the African Nations Championships (Chan) in two years time.