Express FC of Uganda will take on guest side Nyasa Big Bullets of Malawi in the final of Cecafa Kagame Cup at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Saturday.
Express secured their place in the final after beating KMKM of Zanzibar 2-1, while Big Bullets edged Azam of Tanzania 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in added time.
Ibrahim Abdallah Hamad gave KMKM the lead at the stroke of the halftime before Muzamiru Mutyaba found the back of the net with an equalizer at an hour mark.
Eric Kambale killed the game from the spot in the dying minutes of the second stanza to send the Uganda Premier League champions to the Cecafa fina for the first time since 1995.
Big Bullets made a historical shootout win against Azam to reach the final stage of the inter-club competition which had eight teams drawn from the host country Tanzania, Zanzibar, Burundi, South Sudan, Uganda and Malawi.
Bright Munthali netted a brace for the Malawian guest side while Azam scored their goals through Nickson Nyasulu (own goal) and Evancy Tepsi Theonasy.
In the tense penalty shout-out, Yamikani Fodya, Hassan Kajoke, Fantastic Kayira, and Nickson Nyasulu were on target for the Peoples team, while Theonasy and Mwaikenda scored for Azam with Gadafi Said and Abdulrazak Hamza missing the target.
Bullets and Express will square off for the second time at the tournament following their group stages clash that ended in 1-1 draw, nine days ago.
Before the clash between the two giants, semi-finalist KMKM SC of Zanzibar will face their counterparts from Tanzania Mainland Azam FC in a playoff to decide who finishes third.
Should Express win the 2019 edition, it will be their maiden title in the region, after twice missing to lift the trophy in 1994 and 1995 where they lost to Sudan’s Al Merreikh and Simba SC of Tanzania respectively.
For Nyasa Big Bullets, they will be seeking their first ever regional trophy, which will not only for The People’s Team but for Malawian clubs.
The tournament which attracts top teams from the region is partly sponsored by the Rwanda President Paul Kagame. The winner of the tournament will pocket US$30000, while the runners up take US$20000, and the third placed team US$10000.
