Sunday

Sudan    v  Rwanda

Amavubi Stars depart for Sudan today aboard Kenya Airways ahead of the first leg, first round of the African Nations Championships set for Sunday in Khartoum.

The 23-man squad which had not been named by press time departs at 1pm local time and is expected to arrive in Sudan in the evening.

The Ferwafa Chief Executive Officer Jules Kalisa told Times Sport yesterday that the team will use two days to acclimatize with the weather conditions of Sudan before facing their nemesis.

"Everything is prepared and Amavubi Stars expect positive results on their trip to Sudan.”

"Arriving in Sudan earlier will help the team in acclimatizing with the weather conditions before playing their fixture,” Kalisa said.

Amavubi Stars drew Sudan after eliminating Burundi in the preliminary round of the newly introduced African Nations Championship.

Abedi Mulenda strike secured a 1-0 goal aggregate which saw Amavubi Stars sail to the next round of the qualifying rounds of the maiden edition of the tournament exclusively reserved for footballers playing in their domestic leagues.

Rwanda which lost to Sudan on 4-5 penalties after a 2-all draw in last year’s Cecafa Cup held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania will be playing for revenge.

Sunday’s clash will be Blanko Tucak’s first game in charge since his appointment last week. With a career spanning twenty years with spells in Croatia, France, Kuwait and Sudan where he coached bitter rivals Al-Hilal and El-Merreikh, Tucak will be coming against familiar faces.

Meanwhile, Uganda will play Tanzania in the region’s other crucial fixture whose winner would play the winner between Sudan and Rwandan next month.

Ends