African regional confederation Cecafa (the Council for East and Central African Football Associations) have given their 11-member support to Djibouti FA president Hassan Waberi Souleiman (pictured) in his candidacy for an African spot on the FIFA Council.

Waberi, a vice president of Cecafa, will stand in the CAF elections on March 12 in Egypt.

At Cecafa’s General Assembly in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, support for Waberi was fulsome.

“Mr. Waberi is the sole candidate for the CECAFA region, he has all our backing to secure the FIFA Council seat,” said Ethiopian Football Federation president, Isayas Jira Bosho, in his address to the General Assembly on Wednesday, putting emphasis  that the sub-confederation was united behind Waberi.

Cecafa president Wallace Karia, also confirmed Cecafa’s commitment to support Waberi, while president of Somali Football Federation, Ali Abdi Mohamed, praised Waberi’s contribution as CAF vice president. “We are throwing all of our support behind Mr. Waberi,” he said as he joined the Waberi chorus.

While the politics was all about Waberi’s progression towards the FIFA Council, the football focus was on the approval of development programmes and competitions for 2025.

The Cecafa senior challenge cup will return in 2025 after a five-year break, although the host nation has not yet been named. The last Challenge Cup was held in Kampala, Uganda in 2019.

2025 will also see the Cecafa Kagame club Cup hosted in Tanzania, while the congress approved an annual schedule for its U17 championship.

A regional beach soccer tournament will debut in Kenya from end May to early June, while Cecafa said a women’s champions league, women’s U17 and schools’ tournaments for boys and girls will also be organised in 2025.

Cecafa called for countries to host these events and for bids to accompanied by government guarantees.