KIGALI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The annual regional east and central Africa youth rugby tournament kicked off in Kigali on Saturday.

The two-day tournament is taking place at the Red Cross field in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

Under the theme: "Connect to Africa" and "Friends of Rwandan Rugby", the tournament is in its third edition, which has attracted players between 15 and 18.

The chief administrator of the Federation of Rwandan Rugby, John Livingstone Muhire said the tournament is very special because of the high level of involvement by female players.

"World rugby has set out very clear targets for the increase in female participation. It is hoped that this tournament will show females in Rwanda of the standards in other parts of Africa and encourage more females to get involved. All of the clubs in Rwanda understand that females can play rugby and that with continued support there can be an increase in the numbers of female players and frequency of female games," he said.

Participating teams are from Kenya, host Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi and Uganda.