AYC forces Kagame Cup shift

The Confederation of East and Central African Football Association (Cecafa) has shifted the next edition of the annual Cecafa/Kagame Cup Club Championship to May 2009. The annual championship usually held in January, has been rescheduled because the dates coincide with the forthcoming African Youth Championship set for January 18th –Feb 1st in Kigali, Rwanda. It will be the first time that Rwanda will be hosting an event of such magnitude. According to the regional body’s Secretary General Nicholas Musonye, Rwanda is best placed to host the event owing to her good history of organizing such events. Speaking to Times Sport from Nairobi (Kenya), Musonye said, “Rwanda will be hosting the African Youth Championships early next year. So we have decided to shift the Club Championship to May next year. I wrote to the football authorities informing them of the changes however, they haven’t replied,” Musonye said. “They (Rwanda) have a very good history when it comes to organizing such event,” the football administrator said. During this year’s Kagame Cup Championship held in Dar es salaam, Tanzania, Burundi was fronted as a possible host but Cecafa ruled them out claiming that they did not have the facilities to host such event. If Rwanda hosts the 35th edition of the Championship, it will have the privilege of having two of its clubs; two-time champions regional club champions APR and league champions Atraco seeded. Yanga still serving three year ban Latest reports indicate that APR’s tormentors; Tanzania’s Young Africans (Yanga) will now compete in the Africa Champions League (CAF Champions League) following a decision by the executive committee of the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) to lift the ban that it had imposed on them during the Cecafa Club Championship. However, Musonye said that Yanga are still serving a three year ban that Cecafa imposed on them during the Cecafa Club Championship in July for bad conduct. Cecafa suspended Young Africans (Yanga) for three years for boycotting a third play off match against local rivals Simba Sports Club. The 2008 Kagame Cup losing semi-finalists claimed that the environment surrounding the match was not favorable for them to play in following a last minute decision by their rivals, Simba SC, to play the match contrary to the prior agreement between the two teams. The teams are reportedly said to have agreed to play only if TFF and Cecafa paid them TSh50 million as match fee, a decision that was disputed by the two soccer bodies. According to the Tanzanian Daily, Young Africans were allowed to compete in international tournaments including international friendlies after TFF ordered the club to pay $35,000 to Cecafa. Ends

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AYC forces Kagame Cup shift