Cecafa Cup fixtures

December 31
Zambia   v  Djibouti
Sudan     v  Kenya

January 1, 2009
Zanzibar  v  Somalia
Uganda    v  Rwanda

The proposed Amavubi Stars international friendly against Bahrain has been cancelled. The game was arranged by unidentified French based match agent who didn’t agree terms with the Bahrain football officials.

The development has led the local football governing body Ferwafa to rule out any other international build up for the national team ahead of the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup due in Kampala Uganda from December 31, 2008 -January 13, 2009.

The Fifa sanctioned international friendly had been set to be played on Boxing Day. According to Ferwafa’s CEO Jules Kalisa, the match was negotiated by French based match agent (not mentioned) who failed to reach an agreement with the Bahrain football federation thus ruling out the game.

Kalisa told Sunday Sport that Amavubi Stars will not engage any foreign team in its preparations for the two week regional championship.

"This match agent failed to reach an agreement with Bahrain federation thus forcing us to call off the friendly tie,” Kalisa said.

Doubts about the international friendly surfaced earlier this week when Bahrain’s team in-charges; coach Milan Macala and national team manager Hassan Khalfan denied reports of a friendly game with Rwanda.

"If we are to play this match, we of course should know about it, but we have no information about this so far,” Khalfan told Bahrain local media.

The Amavubi Stars’ wanted to use the game as preparation for the forthcoming 32nd edition of Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup.

In a related development, national league’s top scorer and Atraco’s striker Jean Lomami has joined the Amavubi team, five days after the team started preparations for the regional tournament.

Lomami, top goal scorer with 11 goals trained with the squad on Friday and Saturday.

Amavubi Stars, last year’s losing finalists are expected to leave for Kampala on December 29 and kick off their campaign against archrivals and tournament hosts Uganda Cranes on New Year’s Day at Namboole Stadium.

Rwanda is grouped against Uganda, Tanzania, Zanzibar and whipping boys Somalia while Group B consists of Zambia, Kenya, Burundi, Djibouti and defending champions Sudan.

Zambia, a five-time finalist at the regional tournament won the trophy in 1991 before switching allegiance to Cosafa was invited to the tournament after Eritrea’s withdrawal due to political reasons.

Zambia’s last appearance in the tournament came two years ago in Ethiopia when they went on to win the tournament after defeating Sudan in the final.

Rwanda will face Zambia in the final round of the 2010 World/Africa Cup qualifiers set to begin in March, 2009. The top two form each group automatically advance to the last four.

Cranes will be seeking redemption after failing to make the penultimate round of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup/African Nations Cup qualifiers. 

Kenya, Rwanda and Sudan are the only teams in the region that have got that far. It will also be Tucak’s first taste of action in a competition that Rwanda has narrowly failed to win over the past three years.

Ends