CECAFA women championship

Group A: Uganda, Kenya, Burundi & ZanzibarGroup B: Ethiopia, Tanzania & Rwanda

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Fixtures:

September 11Zanzibar Vs BurundiUganda Vs Kenya

September 12Tanzania Vs Rwanda

September 13Burundi Vs KenyaZanzibar Vs Uganda

September 14Rwanda Vs Ethiopia

September 15Kenya Vs ZanzibarUganda Vs Burundi

September 16Tanzania Vs Ethiopia

She-Amavubi head coach Grace Nyinawumuntu is in buoyant mood ahead of this year’s Cecafa Women Championships, slated to take place in Uganda’s eastern town of Jinja from September, 11-20.

Rwanda was on Monday drawn in the same pool as neighbours Tanzania and Ethiopia, with the three teams making Group B, while hosts Uganda were drawn in Group A alongside Burundi, Kenya and Zanziba.

The draw was carried out in Kampala, Uganda, and involved seven teams.

Nyinawumuntu told Times Sport yesterday that her team will enter camp on September 3 and start intensive training the following day, at Amahoro National Stadium.

"We have been drawn against strong sides. I have seen Tanzania play, they are a very good team and they and Ethiopia both have young, strong and quick players,” she said.

She added that their group opponents had recently "played more games than us, they can cause us problems but we are going to prepare well because I know we have players who can make the deference.”

Rwanda open their campaign against Tanzania on September 12 before rounding up their group matches with Ethiopia on September 16.

And, despite playing fewer games than their Cecafa opponents, Nyinawumuntu said, She-Amavubi are good enough to beat any team in the region.

"Apart from Nigeria and other probably a few other countries in West African, we can beat any team on the continent. We will do all we can to get good results and I am confident about our chances to progress to the semi-finals” she noted.  

She added: "We have good players who have been playing in the league and we’ll work to improve on their tactical, physical and technical abilities. However, we will focus more on the physical aspect because Ethiopia and Tanzania are both very strong sides physically,” the AS Kigali (Women) coach explained.  

"We will be going to the championships to win each one of our games.”

The tournament will kick off on September 11 with Zanzibar playing against Burundi in the first game before hosts Uganda take on Kenya in the second game.

Semifinal fixtures are set for September 18 while the final and third-place play-off are scheduled on September 20.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw