The African Nations Cup UK (ANCUK), a grassroots football tournament for African communities in the UK kicks off on Saturday June 18.
Twenty African teams will be taking part in the competition, which takes place June 18 -24, 2016 in London.
The 20 teams participating in the tournament include: Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, Sao Tome, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zanzibar and Zimbabwe. Cameroon won the competition in 2015.
The teams will be gearing up to represent the two-million strong UK African Diaspora.
African Nations Cup UK
African Nations Cup UK
The preliminary and knockout stages of this year’s tournament will take place at Hackney Marshes, London. The finals are scheduled to take place at the Terence McMillan Stadium in Newham, London.
The tournament is sponsored by Royal Air Maroc.
"We're extremely proud to sponsor what has become the foremost grassroots football event for the African diaspora in the UK and a tool for supporting community cohesion,” said Achraf El Hassani - General Manager Royal Air Maroc UK & Ireland.
“As a key regional carrier connecting Africa to the rest of the world, Royal Air Maroc looks forward to welcoming the African teams and fans to the event.”
Dennis Kirunda Mahadha, founder of ANCUK noted that, “It is great to have Royal Air Maroc on board as sponsor of this year’s competition. African Nations Cup UK started in 2009, with only eight countries participating. This is the sixth year we have run the football tournament and its popularity continues to grow every year.”
Dennis Kirunda received a Gold medal from Prince William and Grek Dyke, Chairman of the Football Association, at Buckingham Palace for exceptional services for developing grassroots football in the UK, in 2013.
Royal Air Maroc was recently awarded the 4-Star Airline certification by Skytrax, the world’s leading airline and airport rating agency. It is a fitting public acknowledgement of the airline’s achievements, hard work and dedication.