The 2018 Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (Cecafa) Kagame Cup kicks off Friday afternoon in Dar es Salaam with 12 teams participating.

The tourney that returns after a two-year hiatus will see the winner take home Sh3 million courtesy of sponsor and Rwanda President Paul Kagame.

"Everything is set, we've received all the funds for the competition and all teams, except Gor Mahia, are here," Cecafa Secretary General Nicholas Musonye said on Thursday.

Zanzibar side Jeshi la Kujenga Uchumi (JKU) opens the edition against Ugandan champions Vipers at Chamazi Sports Complex.

Kenya will be represented by 16-time SportPesa Premier League (SPL) champions Gor Mahia who confirmed participation Thursday allaying fears of pulling out due to squad unrest over unpaid match-winning bonuses.

"We are flying to Dar es Salaam on Friday night after our league match," club CEO Lordvick Aduda said ahead of their SPL clash against Sony Sugar Friday afternoon at the Moi Stadium.

"The players' reported strike was uncalled for. It's a club policy that bonuses are paid on top of salaries. They already pocketed Sh37,000 each for winning the SportPesa Super Cup and will receive the rest in the June pay," he added.

In another development, eagerly awaited Nigerian forward Alex Orotomal finally jetted in Nairobi Thursday and signed a two-year contract with AFC Leopards.

The 24-year-old lanky striker has joined Ingwe from Sunrise FC of Rwanda where he finished third on the scoring charts, with 10 goals, three behind the leader Ndarusanze Claude.

On receiving the new star, Leopards patron, Senator Johnston Sakaja said Ingwe has been following the player for some time and discovered he was a top player to add punch to the Ingwe front line.

"It's my great pleasure to receive a world class striker at Ingwe," said the Nairobi Senator.