Uganda

By Olad Hassan

The Cranes of Uganda, defending Cecafa Champions, have again retained their regional tittle and 11th cecafa Senior challenge after beating Rwanda in the final of the tournament on sunday.

Dam Wagaluka opened the scoring deadlock of the final for Uganda 4 minuts before the half time and Emmanuel Okwi scored an other fantastic goal for uganda in the 73rd minuts, to give the win of cecafa in their consecutive two years.

Less than 5,000 fans have attended to watch the regional final, that looked poor attendence of a such high profile game of the region,this came after the hosts Harambee stars eleminated from the competition in the quarter final stage.

Uganda are considered to be the best team in the region, cranes have reached 15 finals of the Cecafa cup winning 11 of them.

Ugandan Scotish coach Bobby Williamson told the media after the game, that his player played their best and he that he was already expecting to win the cup.

Earlier Zanzibar defeated mainland Tanzania 1-nil to finish third in the regional competition.

Eritrea’s Red Sea Boys beat Somalia 3-1 in Group “B” of the Orange CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup in Kenya. The victory over Somalia ensures that Eritrea goes through to the quarterfinals of the competition.

The return of the The Red Sea Boys is evidence that a good team can always learn and build up its strengths after loosing a match. It is never too late as long as the team spirit is kept high. Brazilian soccer champ Pelé once said, “I am constantly being asked about individuals. The only way to win is as a team. Football is not about one or two or three star players.“

Somalia’s defeat means that the national team dropped out of the competition flying back home on Monday. Eritrea finished second in the group and will play on Tuesday against Tanzania in the quarterfinals. Thumbs up to the Read Sea Boys- The whole nation is beside you.

Eritrea lost 2-1 to Rwanda in today’s Group B match of the Orange CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup at Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi. The victory over Eritrea ensured Rwanda a place in the quarter-finals making it tougher for the Red Sea Boys to reach the next stage of the cup.

This comes days after the coach of the Rwandan national team was fired by the National Football Federation having finished bottom of Group 3 in the qualifiers for next year’s African Cup of Nations in Angola.

In the second Group B match between Zimbabwe and Somalia, Zimbabwe could secure four points by beating Somalia 2-0.

Eritrea is going to play Somalia at the City Stadium, Nairobi on Saturday. Eritrea needs a victory over Somalia to be able to qualify for the quarter finals.

The two top teams in three groups qualify automatically while the two best performers from the other six teams also gain a place.

Eritrea and Zimbabwe drew 0-0 in their first Group “B” standing at the 33rd Council for East Africa and Central Africa Football Association (CECAFA) at the National Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya.

Eritrea is joined by Somalia, Rwanda and Zimbabwe in Group B and will face Rwanda in the next match on Thursday, December 3rd.

The cup is sponsored by Orange, one of the world’s leading telecommunication operators. CECAFA and Orange have agreed on a US$175,000 deal for the event, which takes place in the Kenyan towns of Nairobi and Mumias until Sunday, December 13th.

Further, Orange has agreed to sponsor the African Cups of Nations, the African Champions League, the African Confederations Cup, the Super Cup, the African Nations Championship and the African Youth Championship for the next eight years.