Ex-Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah will lead his Khartoum FC side to the 2015 Cecafa competition as late replacement.

The Sudanese side has been drafted to replace defending champions Al Merreikh who pulled out to concentrate on the CAF Champions League after qualifying for the lucrative Group stages.

Khartoum have drawn back-to-back Kenya Premier League champions Gor Mahia alongside Yanga (Tanzania), Telecom ( Djibout) and KMKM (Zanzibar ) in group A.

The second team from Sudan, Al Shandy will take on last year’s beaten finalists, APR of Rwanda, Burundi’s LLB and Elman of Somalia in a relatively easy Pool B while Uganda’s Kampala Capital Authority FC, Azam FC (Tanzania), Malakia (South Sudan) and Adama City (Ethiopia) will battle it out in Pool C.

The competition gets underway in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania from July 18 to August 2.

Winners will receive Sh2.9m (USD 30 000), runner-ups pocket Sh1.9m (USD 20,000) while third finisher takes home Sh992, 509 (USD10 000)Draw

Group A: Yanga (Tanzania), Gor Mahia ( Kenya), Khartoum ( Sudan), Telecom ( Djibout), KMKM (Zanzibar ).

Group B: APR( Rwanda) , Al Shandy ( Sudan), LLB ( Burundi), Elman ( Somalia).

Group C: Azam (Tanzania), Malakia ( Sudan Kusini), KCC ( Uganda), Adama City ( Ethiopia)