International friendly

Ivory Coast vs Amavubi (Thursday)

Rwanda’s Amavubi Stars enter residential training this morning ahead of Thursday’s international friendly match against Ivory Coast in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The Ivorian team, popularly known as the Elephants has tabled two build-up games against Tanzania and Rwanda as they bid to win a second African Nations Cup (CAN) in Angola.

The national football federation (Ferwafa)’s Chief Executive Officer Jules Kalisa yesterday told Times Sport that Amavubi will leave for Tanzania on Wednesday, play on Thursday and return the following day.

"They (Amavubi) are starting residential training today, but we are not yet decided on where they will camp.

The team will leave on Wednesday afternoon, play the following day and come back on Friday,” Kalisa said.

The Elephants – arrived in Tanzania yesterday and are scheduled to play Taifa Stars this evening.

Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou are among the high profile players in the team which has also been tipped to challenge the world’s top footballing nations when the World Cup takes centre stage in South Africa in June.

According to Ivorian news sources, the duo arrived in Ivory Coast three days ago aboard a special private jet offered by Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich, after their recent 2-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League (EPL).

The pair joined the rest of the team at Bingerville (suburb of Abidjan), ready to be flown to Tanzania where the Elephants plan to hold final training preparations.

Ivory Coast kick off  their Angola 2010 campaign against their close neighbours Burkina Faso on January 11 at the 25,000-capacity Chimandela Stadium, Cabinda.

Apart from household names like Drogba and Kalou, other players in the fold include Kolo Toure (Manchester City) and Emanuel Eboue (Arsenal).

After their stint in Tanzania, the team will relocate to Kuwait where they will play friendlies against Kuwait and two local clubs.

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