Nine-time league champions APR have said stopping the national league has affected their preparations for this year’s Cecafa/Kagame Cup club championship due in Dar es salaam, Tanzania from July 12-26.

APR head Coach Rene Feller told Times Sport recently that the idea of halting the league was not a better one.

The national football league was put on hold so as to enable the national team prepare, the Amavubi Stars for the ongoing 2010 World Cup/Africa Cup of Nation qualifiers.

The league returns to action on June 25, two weeks before the Cecafa Club Championships gets underway in Tanzania.
"We have faced difficulties in preparing for Cecafa because all our top players are on national duty. "Training with few players does not help us at all because tournament is next month,” the Dutchman complained.

And the former Eritrea national team coach is confident that if he all the players on national duty report back without any injuries, APR is capable of defending the regional title they won on home soil last year after seeing off Uganda Revenue Authority 2-1 in the final.

Meanwhile, the Cecafa secretariat is yet to confirm the new dates for making the draws for next month’s tournament.

Thirteen clubs have already confirmed their participation in this year’s Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (Cecafa)/Kagame Club Championship.

Among the confirmed clubs, defending champions APR and Rayon Sport will hoist the Rwandan flag.
Other clubs confirmed for this year’s event are last year’s losing finalists, Uganda Revenue Authority, Vital’O of Burundi, Al Hilal of Sudan, Miembeni FC of Zanzibar, Ten-Ten FC from Eritrea, Awassa City of Ethiopia, Banaadir Telecom of Somalia and AS Compagnie of Djibouti.

Kenya’s Tusker FC, which was barred from this year’s continental championships due to a debt the Kenya Football Federation (KFF), owed the Confederation of African Football (CAF) could be a late entry.

As host nation, Tanzania will enjoy an advantage of fielding two teams and will be represented by Yanga and Simba football clubs.

Dar es Salaam’s main stadium, currently under construction, is the most likely venue for the two-week long championship.

President Paul Kagame has been the sole sponsor of the Cecafa/Kagame club championship to a tune of $60.000 since 2002.

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