The Council for East and Central Africa Football Association (Cecafa) secretary General Nicholas Musonye who has been in office since 2001 has praised the Rwanda President Paul Kagame and the good image of the body for all the success coming its way now. Times Sport’s MARTHA AYURO talked to him at length.
TS: How have you changed the face of Cecafa?
Musonye: Our biggest strategy has been bringing in people of calibre within the Cecafa ranks and our close friends outside who support us.
If you looked at the people who run Cecafa today, everyone is a person of calibre and wants to see football grow in the region.
TS: Has Cecafa really done its work as is required?
Musonye: Yes, Cecafa has done exceptionally well by developing football and the East and Central region. We have continued to organise the Senior Challenge Cup, U-17, U-20 tournaments and the Kagame Club Championships which all provide ground to improve on the talent.
We have worked hard to give our players the platforms to market themselves.
TS: Rwanda President Paul Kagame has been very helpful to Cecafa. What is your comment on this?
Musonye: We owe a lot to Rwanda’s far sighted leader who has taken sports seriously in trying to unite the country after the 1994 genocide and the whole region as a whole.
As our patron he has sponsored the Club Championships for the last ten years and also contributed to us getting more sponsors on board.
TS: Talk about the sponsors Cecafa has got because of Kagame’s patronage?
Musonye: Having him as our patron has helped us improve our image and helped us get sponsorship from the Ethiopian tycoon Sheikh Muhammad Almoudi to sponsoring the Senior Challenge Cup two years ago, defunct GTV for supporting the Challenge Cup in 2008 and 2009 and now securing the El Merreikh Group of Investments to sponsor the Club championship.
TS: Besides having a strong patron like Kagame, how has Cecafa managed to get sponsors to support football in the region?
Musonye: Cecafa has simply learnt how to position itself better in terms of branding and better image. We also give sponsors opportunity to pay expenses directly instead of the money going through our hands, and this creates confidence. We also give our sponsors an avenue to market their products and brand better.
Because of our mentality of respecting the sponsor, we have scored highly in getting more companies on board.
TS: What do you mean by sponsors directly paying expenses?
Musonye: We don’t want the sponsors to give us all the money we have requested for and start running around to buy air tickets, pay hotels and transport.
We leave the sponsor to handle this so that he can have confidence and get directly involved.
TS: Djibouti and Somalia seem to be producing the weakest team in the region. What do you think is the future of football in these countries?
Musonye: As Cecafa, we know the strengths and weaknesses of each member country. But we think Somalia and Djibouti have improved and are developing year by year.
The kind of performance their teams show at Cecafa events has improved with time although the likes of Somalia still have political problems back home.
TS: What is you comment on the current World Cup/Nations Cup campaign by member nations Sudan, Kenya and Rwanda?
Musonye: As the way things stand now, I see us with no chance of having a team from our region in the World Cup, but I still have hope we can still have the three teams at the Africa Nations Cup finals.
These nations need to focus a lot on the kind of preparations they invest in each game but must also make sure they win any of their remaining home games.
TS: Sudan has two teams El Merreikh and El Hilal in the group stages of the lucrative MTN Champions league. Do you think their league is much stronger than the other member states?
Musonye: Their league might not be the best, but they certainly invest a lot in their teams and also plan better. Other teams in the region should also borrow a leaf from the way El Merreikh and El Hilal organize themselves because they have continued to do well on the continent.
TS: How will you handle the aspect of some teams fielding over-age players in Cecafa junior tournaments?
Musonye: We have decided that for any nation that is proved to have fielded over-age players, they will be asked to pay very huge fines and face lengthy bans as well. There must be fair play in football and not cheating like the way some nations want to win at what ever cost.
TS: Some member nations think brining in guest teams to Cecafa events is depriving some teams from winning. What is your comment?
Musonye: Bringing more challenge to our teams will certainly help us improve. These guest teams we bring have helped us improve because of the exposure.
These are the same teams you meet at the international stage and therefore facing them at Cecafa events could be more of an advantage because it gets our teams ready and know what to expect.
Ends