AMAVUBI Stars joined camp yesterday in preparation for the lucrative Cecafa Senior  Challenge Cup which kicks off next Saturday  in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Sellas Tetteh’s boys head into camp on the back of three successive defeats; identical 0-3 defeats against Ivory Coast and Benin in the 2012 Africa Nations Cup qualifiers and Wednesday’s 1-2 loss at the hands of Malawi in Blantyre.

The Ghanaian knows he has a big job to do in raising the team’s morale ahead of the annual event, which Rwanda last won in 1999.

The team is staying at La Palisse hotel, Nyandungu.
Tetteh’s assistant Eric Nshimiyimana reckons that defense and attack are two areas that need to be worked on if Rwanda is to make a successful challenge in Tanzania.
"There is still a lot of work to be done in defense and attack.”

Last year, Nshimiyimana led a youthful Amavubi side to the final only to lose out to 11-time winners Uganda 0-2.

With a lump sum $450,000 (Rwf263m) sponsorship package from Serengeti Breweries Limited, this year’s winner will pocket $30000 (Rwf17.7m) while first and second runner-up will pocket $20,000 (Rwf11.8m) and $10,000 (Rwf5.9m) respectively.

Group A has features Tanzania, guests Zambia, Burundi, and Somalia, Group B has Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Sudan and Zanzibar while Group C pits reigning champions Uganda against Kenya, Ethiopia and Malawi.

The top two teams and the best two qualifiers from all the three groups will progress to the last eight. For the likes of Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Uganda and Sudan, the event is a good platform for January’s Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) which will be hosted in Khartoum, Sudan.

Ends