2010 World/Africa Cup qualifiers
Group 8
September 6
Mauritania v Rwanda
Ethiopia v Morocco
October 12
Rwanda v Ethiopia
Morocco v Ethiopia

The Amavubi Stars are unlikely to play any friendly up matches in the build-up to their 2010 World Cup/Africa Nations Cup qualifier against Mauritania next month.

Ferwafa Chief Executive Officer Jules Kalisa told Times Sport over the weekend that the definitive decision about whether Amavubi Stars will be involved in any build-up match(s) lies in the hands if head coach Branko Tucak, who is currently on holiday in the his native Croatia.

"We have to wait until the coach (Tucak) returns from his holiday before deciding whether the teams needs any international build-up matches,” Kalisa said.

The Croat went on holiday a day after Amavubi 2-0 defeat away to Morocco in June and is expected back on August 17 before the starting his work three days later when the team starts residential training.

Rwanda must win away to Mauritania in Nouakchott on September 6 before hosting the Ethiopia on October 12 in Kigali to boost their chances of progressing to the third and final qualifying round of the 2010 World/Africa Cup in South Africa and Angola respectively.

As part of ensuring a successfully campaign, Ferwafa have confirmed that the Amavubi Stars will camp in Nouakchott for a week in preparation for their crucial game against Mauritania where a victory for Rwanda will definitely take them to the next stage.

Amavubi Stars lie second in group eight, level on nine points with Morocco but with a slim eight goals scored against Morocco’s ten goals.

Twenty countries will qualify for the third round of the competition with the group winners in the 12 groups qualifying automatically.

Eight best runners-up will join the 12 group winners for the third round, which will have a total of 20 teams. The following system will be adopted to rank fairly teams placed second in groups of four or three.

However Amavubi’s return leg with Ethiopia in is balance after the Football’s world governing body, Fifa, suspended the Ethiopian Football Federation with immediate effect last week .

The suspension means that Ethiopia could miss their next 2010 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at home to Morocco on the weekend of the 5-7 September.

Fifa’s Emergency Committee made the decision after the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) failed to comply with a roadmap agreed in February 2008 aimed at normalising the situation of the federation.

The EFF problems began in January when its general assembly fired the federation’s president Dr Ashebir Woldegiorgis.

The assembly decided to get rid of the president for what they said was the "dismal” record of Ethiopian football and elected Ahmed Yasin to replace him.

However, the January meeting was not recognised by Fifa who met both parties to find a solution.

Fifa and the Confederation of African Football (Caf) then released a roadmap in February aimed at rectifying the situation.

The roadmap stipulated that Dr Woldegiorgis and his executive committee are the only leadership that Fifa and Caf would recognise and that another extraordinary meeting of the EFF should have been held on 29 March.

The agenda of the meeting would simply be a "motion of dismissal” of the Woldegiorgis’ executive committee. According to the EFF statutes, for this motion to be approved it would have to supported by two-thirds of the valid votes cast by the official delegates in a secret ballot.

In addition, the EFF offices were to be handed over to the recognised leadership of the association.

But the 29 March meeting never took place as Woldegiorgis was not allowed access to his office.

Now Fifa says that despite sending several reminders in recent months, none of the steps established in the roadmap have been taken.

Group 8
Team        P    W    D     L  Pts
Morocco    4    3     0     1    9
Rwanda     4    3     0     1    9
Ethiopia     4    2     0     2    6
Mauritania  4   0     0    4    0

Ends