Rayon Sports reached the final of the last CECAFA Kagame Cup in 1998 after eliminating Jamus SC of South Sudan 3-1, where they met Gor Mahia FC of Kenya. This Tuesday, August 4, 2026, the two semi-final matches of the 2026 CECAFA Kagame Cup were played at the Kigali Pele Stadium, the first match pitting Gor Mahia FC of Kenya against Al Hilal SC Omdurman of Sudan and the much-awaited match pitting Jamus SC against Rayon Sports.
Rayon Sports coach, Haringingo Francis Christian, has made no changes to the 11 players he has named in the previous two CECAFA Kagame Cup matches. Rayon Sports’ 11 players were led by goalkeeper Dande Junior, defenders Ganijuru Ishimwe Elie, Charles Tchouplaou, Nshuti Didier and captain Nshimiyimana Emmanuel “Kabange”; in the midfield were Muderi Akbar, Ibrahim Mansoru Djingarey and Issa Djiguiba, and the defenders were Iradukunda Elie Tatou, Kameni Herman Junior and Antonio Kossivi Atisso Kodjo.
On the other hand, Jamus SC did not have any of its players, including Muhire Kevin, who also played for Rayon Sports, and goalkeeper Kubi Appiah, who both had injury problems. In the first half of the game, Rayon Sports remained behind, allowing Jamus SC to dominate the ball, but they also played it very well in their own half when Rayon Sports would try to get the ball and then rush forward.
This tactic led to a goal for Rayon Sports, who took the ball from the right side, captain Nshimiyimana lifted it into the goalkeeper’s area, Atisso was well positioned and headed it, and Muderi Akbar was alone and immediately shook the net. Jamus SC continued to dominate the ball, but there was no escape, which was a problem for Rayon Sports because its players were well positioned and all were in their own area.
The first half ended with Rayon Sports leading the game 1-0. The second half of the game began with Jamus SC, coached by Saber Ben Jabria, making 3 changes in order to find a way to compensate. This half of the game began with Jamus SC opening the game and also starting to attack Rayon Sports’ goal, which allowed Rayon to also start to find open opportunities to score. This resulted in Rayon Sports’ second goal in the 57th minute after a well-taken pass by Issa Djiguiba, who was intercepted by Jamus SC players before they cleared him. Ibrahim Mansoru Djingarey was in a good position to score the second goal, sending the Kigali Pele Stadium, which was mostly filled with Rayon Sports fans, into a frenzy.
The game was a stalemate with neither team getting close to the other’s goal before Rayon Sports’ defenders were distracted; Malian striker Bandjouhou Diallo passed the ball to them and slotted it into the net, scoring Jamus SC’s first goal in the 70th minute of the game. Rayon Sports came under pressure as they were still one goal behind, but that did not stop them from continuing to beat Jamus SC, and the pressure was finally lifted after Tambwe Gloire scored Rayon Sports’ third goal in the 86th minute.
Rayon Sports then reached the final of the CECAFA Kagame Cup, their last in 1998, which was also their only win. Rayon Sports reached the final, where they were beaten by Kenyan side Gor Mahia FC, who had reached the final by defeating Sudanese side Al Hilal SC Omdurman 8-7 on penalties, after the two teams had tied 1-1.
Gor Mahia had taken the lead in the 34th minute through Steven Ebuela’s own goal, but Al Hilal came back to compensate for this goal through Ansumana Samura in the 44th minute, leaving both teams tied at 1-1 at half-time, and the match generally ended that way. Coach Charles Akonnor’s Gor Mahia were forced to play an extra 30 minutes with 10 men after Jackson Dwang was sent off in the final minutes of the match.
Gor Mahia last reached the final of the CECAFA Kagame Cup in 2015 when they lost 2 goals to Azam FC, their last time winning the trophy in 41 years, having last done so in 1985. The 2026 CECAFA Kagame Cup final will be held on Friday, July 7, 2026 at the Amahoro Stadium at 19:00 between Rayon Sports and Gor Mahia FC. This match will be preceded by a third-place play-off match starting at 15:00 between Jamus SC and Al Hilal. Rayon Sports and Gor Mahia last met on July 18, 2026, at ‘Rayon Day’, where Rayon Sports won 2-0.
