Ferwafa wants Peace Cup semi-finals postponed

Quarter-finals: Return legMay 7AS Kigali vs MusanzeBugesera vs Vision F.CMay 8APR vs IsongaMuhanga vs MukuraRwanda Football Federation [Ferwafa] are set to engage in talks with sponsors Imbuto Foundation in bid to postpone the semi final of the Peace Cup competition to enable champions APR compete in this year’s Cecafa/Kagame Club Championship due in Sudan.The 2013 Kagame Cup will be held from June 18 to July 2, the Council for East and Central African Football Association (Cecafa) confirmed recently.The dates coincide with the Peace Cup competition where the second leg of the semi finals will be played on June 30 with the third-place and final match due on July 4.Speaking to Saturday Sport yesterday, Richard Gahonzire, Ferwafa’s Marketing Manager said, “We have no alternative other than to speak with Imbuto Foundation such that we can postpone the semifinal matches of the competition.”“Since the Cecafa club championship is sponsored by our President, Rwanda has to be represented because organisers are finding it hard to postpone the tournament due to sponsors too,” he explained.He added, “Since APR is still in competition, I think the best idea is to postpone the Peace Cup matches so as to allow them to take part in the Kagame Championship.” By press time, Cecafa’s Secretary General Nicholas Musonye was expected to travel to Sudan to monitor the preparations and even talk to sponsors.He said that Cecafa met with Sudan football Association and the sponsors El Merreikh group in Khartoum last week and put the program of staging this event in Sudan in motion.“El Merreikh group who sponsored the colorful Kagame club cup in 2009 have committed to sponsoring the event, they have assured Cecafa that they will organise even a better championship than they did in 2009,” Musonye noted.Cecafa awarded Sudan the rights to host the Kagame Championships in June after Ethiopia, the initial host designate, wanted it to be held in September.Kagame cup is one of the most celebrated club competitions in Africa and sponsors will cover air tickets, local transport and accommodation for all participating teams, Cecafa officials and referees, accommodation for all delegations.The sponsor has added a further US$40,000 to president Kagame’s donation of US$60,000 for total prize money US $100,000 to be shared among the top three teams.Cecafa plans to invite two guest teams. Tanzanian side Young Africans are the defending champions.Apart from Rwanda and Eritrea, other regional countries have confirmed their clubs which will compete in the two-week competition.

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Ferwafa wants Peace Cup semi-finals postponed