Tucak keen on pros for Cecafa

Group AUganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zanzibar and Somalia Group BSudan, Kenya, Eritrea, Burundi and Djibouti December 31Eritrea v DjiboutiSudan v Kenya January 1Zanzibar v SomaliaUganda v Rwanda Amavubi Stars head coach Branko Tucak is considering inviting professional players to better his ambition of winning the next edition of the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup due in Kampala, Uganda from December 31 to January 13. Tucak told Times Sport recently that he expects to use a mixture of home based players and professionals as he builds his Amavubi squad for the event that Rwanda has only won once but reached four finals. “I will summon all players, be it locally-based or professionals with only one thing on my mind, to win the Cecafa Challenge Cup,” admitted the Croat. Tucak named his choice of professional players as Olivier Karekezi (Ham Kam), Hamad Ndikumana (Omonio Nicosia), Bobo Bola (Landkronabois), Said Abedi, Henri Munyaneza, Saddou Boubakary (Libya) and Jimmy Mulisa (Belgium). However, the local football federation, Ferwafa wants to use the tournament to groom a new side based on home-based players, and so they don’t find interests in inviting professionals. Ferwafa Chief Executive Officer Jules Kalisa said that no club would be willing to release any of their players since Cecafa Challenge Cup is not a Fifa-recognised competition. “I would therefore find it more suitable to field local talents in this competition, a feat which would also help in forming a new side as well,” Kalisa 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 finals 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. Ends

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Tucak keen on pros for Cecafa