THE Amavubi Stars head coach Tucak Branko is striving to win the 32nd edition of the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup due in Kampala, Uganda from December 31 to January 13. In an exclusive interview with Times Sport yesterday, Branko said that his main ambition this year is to win the title, which Rwanda last won back in 1999. “I want the Cecafa Cup title and nothing should stop my team from claiming the regional competition silverware.” “The team is in a good position to challenge the top contenders,” Branko said. When asked whether he would imitate former Croat and Amavubi coach Josip Kuze by guiding Rwanda to this year’s Cecafa Cup finals, Branko said, “I will reach far compared to where my fellow country man Kuze stopped.” “I have had enough time to learn the regional football and what it takes to win these competitions unlike Kuze who managed to guide to last year’s finals with only one month in charge of the national team,” Branko said. Though the Croat born is instilled with compact confidence, he is worried of the squad which he will feature at this year’s Cecafa edition. “Most of my players may not be part of the Amavubi team as they are expected to join U-20 national team to prepare for next year’s African youth championship.” “I will then have to sit with Ferwafa and build a new team which will definitely face hard challenges due to lack of competitive actions,” Branko said. The Amavubi Stars joins camp mid next month to start preparations for this year’s campaign which pit them against arch rivals Uganda on New Year’s Day at Namboole stadium. The Amavubi under former coach Kuze reached the final last year in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania but lost to Sudan 4-2 on penalties after full time had ended in a fascinating 2-2 draw. Amavubi Stars, who knocked out Uganda Cranes at the semi-final stage last year, were drawn in the group A alongside Tanzania, Zanzibar and perennial whipping boys Somalia. The tournament gets underway with a group B game between Eritrea and Djibouti on December 31 at Bugembe Stadium, Jinja. This group that also has defending champions Sudan, Kenya and Burundi will be based outside the capital. Two groups of five teams will play preliminaries and the top two will automatically advance to the last four. Seven of the total 24 matches will be shown live by GTV, starting with the Uganda-Rwanda game. Cranes will be seeking redemption after failing to make the penultimate round of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup/African Nations Cup qualifiers. Kenya, Rwanda and Sudan are the only teams in the region that have got that far. It will also be Tucak’s first taste of action in a competition that Rwanda has narrowly failed to win over the past eight years. 2008 Cecafa Challenge Cup Opening Fixtures December 31 Eritrea v DjiboutiSudan v Kenya January 1 Zanzibar v SomaliaUganda v Rwanda Ends
