CHAN preps: CAF gives Rwanda clean bill of health

The second vice president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Almany Kabele has said he is satisfied with Rwanda’s ongoing preparations to host the fourth edition of the African Nations Championships set for January 16 to February 7, next year. Speaking to Times Sport in an exclusive interview on Tuesday at Serena Hotel, after completing a four day visit of Rwanda, Kabele expressed satisfaction with Rwanda’s effort in renovation of facilities which will host the competition reserved for only home-based players. “I am satisfied with the preparations, I have visited the stadiums, hotels and other things related to the event, so I believe Rwanda will have a successful event,” he said. Kabele also revealed that, they have urged the Local Organising Committee, which is headed by the Rwanda Football Association (FERWAFA) president, Vincent Nzamwita to finish the work by the end of October. He noted that, “We gave them the target to be ready by the end of October and, we believe that Rwanda shall meet the deadline but so far I am impressed with the preparation.” Kabele’s visit follows another visit by CAF officials led by competitions director Shereen Arafa, Tarek El Deeb, Salomon Binyam and Iman Said, who toured the country last month. They inspected work on Huye stadium, Umuganda stadium and Kigali regional stadium. Some hotels that have been confirmed by CAF include Grand Legacy, Serena Hotel, Hill View, Galax, Kigali view, Lemigo, Top Tower and Hotel Umubano. Kabele, who also doubles as the chairman of CAF’s CHAN Organising Committee, visited Kigali regional stadium on Sunday and on Tuesday he visited both Umuganda and Huye respectively. He was accompanied by the FERWAFA president Nzamwita and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports and Culture Edward Kalisa. CAF will again send their inspection team in September to scrutinize how far Rwanda has gone to implement what was recommended in the first report ahead of the draws scheduled to be held in November. A total of 42 teams were involved in the Chan draw, which was based on zonal allocations of the national associations affiliated to CAF, on April 5 in Cairo. The qualifiers, due from June 19-21 and August 28-30, will produce 15 teams that will join the hosts, Rwanda in the finals tournament. The Democratic Republic of Congo won the inaugural competition in 2009 in Ivory Coast while Tunisia were crowned in 2011 in Sudan and Libya were champions last year in South Africa. editorial@newtimes.co.rw