This year’s edition of the CECAFA U-17 tournament will officially kick off on Saturday in Ethiopia. Ten countries will take part in the competition the list of which includes hosts Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Djibouti, Sudan, and Burundi.

The group stage games will take place at Abebe Bikila stadium and Diredawa stadium.

The competition will serve as a qualifier for the AFCON tournament which in turn will be used to assess qualification for the World Cup.

In the pre-tournament press conference Ethiopian Football Federation president Isayas Jira stated they haven’t invested this much even in the senior national team. He underlined the work they put in getting this team together. He further added that they are in discussions with Addis TV and Dire TV to broadcast the tournament.