Tardy buoyant ahead of Botswana qualifier

UNDER-17 national team head coach Richard Tardy is hopeful his young troops will snatch a positive away result against Botswana when both sides meet in the second round of African Youth Championships qualifier.Rwanda face a tough test yet against Botswana in the first leg on Friday in Moloporore, (50km from the capital Gaborone), and in the second leg eight days later in Kigali.Coach Tardy told Times Sport yesterday, “I am confident this team will get a good result against Botswana. We have not had enough time to fully prepare but I’m sure my team will put up a good display.”“Botswana played in a four-nation tournament, played two matches against Malawi and I think this is a good preparation for them.“However, the experience we also gained against Nigeria is vital going into a tough game away from home,” noted the Frenchman.The junior wasps leave for Botswana this morning aboard RwandAir. They will have a stopover in Johannesburg before connecting to Gaborone.Botswana beat Malawi 4-2 on penalties after both teams played an aggregate 3-all after the second leg played in Gaborone over the weekend.The winner over the two-legged qualifier will face the winner between Sudan and Algeria in the final qualifying round later this year after CAF disqualified the Somali U-17 team that beat Sudan to progress to the second round of CAF U-17 Championship.The Confederation of African Football said the Somalia FA did not respect the decision of CAF Executive Committee indicating that all the players participating in the U-17 Championship must undergo the age eligibility check by the MRI apparatus (Magnetic Resonance Imaging).Taking into consideration the internal situation of Somalia, CAF gave the FA an extended deadline up to October 4th, 2012. However, no MRI tests were received by that date prompting CAF to disqualify Somalia and pave way for Sudan to return to the competition.In a related development, Tanzania’s Serengeti Boys have qualified for the final round following a decision by Egypt to pull out of the tournament.

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Tardy buoyant ahead of Botswana qualifier