THE draws for next year’s Caf U-17 championship will be held this Saturday at Lake Kivu Serena Hotel, 24 hours after the final qualifier between Burkina Faso and Reunion Island. The local football governing body (Ferwafa) CEO Jules Kalisa expects representatives from all the eight qualified teams to be present. “The draw will start at 6pm and we expect representatives of all the eight countries to be present,” the official said.Rubavu stadium, one of the venues for the championship, is still under construction but Kalisa is certain it will be ready by the end of December. Over the weekend, five teams sealed their slots in January’s show piece. Reigning champions Gambia booked their ticket after beating Tunisia’s Baby Scorpions 1-0 in Banjul, a result which gave them victory on the away goals rule after the tie ended in a 3-3 aggregate score. Central Africa will be represented by Gabon who progressed despite losing 3-2 away to Congo Brazzaville on Sunday.Gabon made it through thanks to their 2-0 home victory a fortnight ago. Mali are also through after a 3-0 home victory over Cameroon in Bamako. The Eaglets qualified 4-0 on aggregate, after winning by a lone goal a fortnight ago in Yaounde. Another qualifier is Ivory Coast who beat Sierra Leone 2-0 in Abidjan. They go through 4-2 on aggregate.However, there was disappointment for two-time winners (1995 and 1999) Ghana, after they lost to Senegal on penalties. The Black Starlets had gone into the second leg with a 2-0 lead from the first match in Accra. But Senegal neutralized that advantage with an identical score line in Dakar and they proved triumphant after taking the game 3-2 on penalties. Senegal are now set to make their first ever appearance at the tournament. Rwanda qualified as hosts, while Egypt received a bye after their opponents, Mauritius withdrew. The final tournament takes place from 7-22 January, 2011 in Rwanda. Ends
