Work hard ahead of 2010 qualifiers — Cecafa

KAMPALA - Council for East and Central African Football Association (Cecafa) President Leodegar Tenga, has called upon Rwanda, Sudan and Kenya to triple their efforts as they embark on a difficult mission in the next round of the 2010 World Cup/Africa Nations Cup qualifiers. “ We are happy that we still have Cecafa member countries in the qualifiers, and our wish is to see at list two nations qualify for the Nations Cup and may be the World Cup,” said Tenga during an interview yesterday at Equatorial Hotel. Mr Tenga, also the FA President of Tanzania advised the three countries to work hard and plan properly ahead f these games. “Planning most times is our problem. But I trust that the three nations will put-up a good show and they have all our blessings,” said Tenga. He said although the three nations did not win the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup, they had played well and used the tournament to prepare better. Uganda won the Cecafa title for a record tenth time after a hard fought 1-0 victory over Kenya on Tuesday night, while Tanzania finished third after a 3-2 win over Burundi. Commenting about the Cecafa tournament, Tenga said although they had some mishaps to do with transport and training pitches, every thing had moved on well and the event was successful. “We thank Uganda for hosting a good tournament that ended without any incidences. Asked about a Tanzanian player who beat-up a Ugandan fan after the Kilimanjaro Stars lost 2-1 to the Cranes, Tenga said he has not yet received any report like that, but added that he will do further investigations when he returns to Tanzania. “We shall not tolerate indiscipline in the Cecafa region. We need to develop football and take our standards to the next level,” said Tenga. “GTV, the sponsors of the tournaments are very happy with the level of organization of this tournament,” said Cecafa Secretary General Nicholas Musonye. He said the sponsors might even think of increasing the total package two years from now when the contract expires. The British company injects about US$450,000 annually in the tournament. This year’s tournament which had a record 60 goals scored attracted hosts Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Sudan, Zambia, Djibouti, Somalia and Zanzibar. The winning team received US$30,000, the runner-up US$20,000 and the third placed US$10,000, courtesy of the sponsors GTV. Ends

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Work hard ahead of 2010 qualifiers — Cecafa