KAMPALA, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The Council for East and Central African Football Associations (CECAFA) has confirmed the return of the U-17 tournament after it was last held nine years ago.

Nicholas Musonye, Secretary General of CECAFA, told Xinhua on Wednesday that the tournament, which will be held in Burundi, returns after the body secured funding from the Federation of International Football Association.

Teams have already started preparing for the tournament that will be held April 14-29.

Uganda will have chance to defend the title it won in 2009 in Sudan when the tournament was last held.

Countries expected to have teams in the competition include Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia and Eritrea.

According to CECAFA, the U-17 tournament will also be used to prepare for the qualifiers of the 2019 Confederation of African Football U-17 Nations Cup tournament which will be held in Tanzania in August this year.