Friday, July 24
•Vipers (Uganda) Vs Garde Republicaine (Djibouti) – Amahoro, 4pm (Ug time)
Vipers SC fans could get their first glimpse of the club’s new signings when the Venoms face Djibouti’s FC Garde Republicaine in their opening match of the 2026 CECAFA Kagame Cup on Friday.
The Uganda Premier League champions have been among the busiest clubs in the transfer window, with the headline arrivals of Farouk Miya and Cesar Manzoki at St. Mary’s Stadium, Kitende.
Despite the excitement surrounding the tournament, new head coach Denis Lavagne insists the Kagame Cup is primarily a preparation event as the club builds towards its bigger targets this season.
Speaking ahead of Friday’s opener, Lavagne said the CAF Champions League remains Vipers’ priority and stressed the need to carefully manage his players’ workload ahead of the new campaign, which officially begins with the FUFA Super Cup on August 23.
“The main objective of the club is the CAF Champions League. The CECAFA Kagame Cup is a very good tournament and we want to fight to win our games here,” Lavagne said.
“We are not 100 percent ready, but all the teams are in the same situation and this is good preparation for us.
“We have to manage the players’ minutes because I don’t want them to play too much and pick up injuries.
“Nonetheless, we want to dominate and control games, play with high intensity, show quality, create chances and score goals.”
Probable lineup
Vipers named a 24-man squad for the tournament, with Enock Ssebagala and Enock Luyima missing out due to injuries.
Denis Kiggundu is expected to start in goal ahead of new signing Loyce Mbaba, with the experienced Gabonese goalkeeper still settling into the squad.
Ashraf Mandela is likely to start at right-back after new signing Jacques Mangoba was left out of the tournament squad, while Derrick Ndahiro could get the nod at left-back ahead of fellow new arrival Nicholas Mwere.
Kevin Da Sylva Bady and Hillary Mukundane are expected to continue their established central defensive partnership.
In midfield, new signing Joel Sserunjogi is set to make his debut in the holding role following his move from KCCA FC. He will be tasked with filling the void left by Taddeo Lwanga.
Karim Watambala is expected to partner Sserunjogi in midfield as he looks to build on an outstanding 2025/26 campaign that saw him named the Uganda Premier League Most Valuable Player.
Captain Milton Karisa, Farouk Miya and Usama Arafat are expected to operate behind lone striker Cesar Manzoki in Lavagne’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.
Tournament format
The 2026 CECAFA Kagame Cup features 12 teams divided into three groups of four, with Vipers drawn alongside APR (Rwanda), Gor Mahia (Kenya) and FC Garde Republicaine (Djibouti) in Group A.
The three group winners, together with the best-performing runner-up, will qualify for the semi-finals.
The winners of the tournament will receive USD 30,000, while the runners-up will earn USD 20,000. The third-placed team will take home USD 10,000.
Matches will be played at Amahoro Stadium and Kigali Pele Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda, and will be broadcast on Azam TV and Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA).
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