AFTER several weeks of thorough training, Amavubi Stars jet out of the country this morning for the Cecafa Tusker Senior Challenge Cup which kicks off this Saturday in Kampala, Uganda.
The delegation, led by Ferwafa vice president Raoul Gisanura, comprises of 20 players and five technical staff members will fly out aboard RwandAir.
Head coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojovic was yet to name the final squad by press time as he was due to take his team into a final warm up match against a select side from APR and Isonga players yesterday at Amahoro stadium.
However, the Serbian tactician expressed optimism ahead of the tournament. He said, “We have had good preparations and especially after Namibia friendly match, we’ve worked on the defensive mistakes we made (against Namibia).”
“We are going into this tournament with high optimism. The players are determined to give their best. We want to win the title but our mission first is to reach the quarter finals,” the Serb told Times Sport.
“For us, every match will be final and with this kind of spirit, we will be able to approach each game with a right attitude,” added Micho, who takes his troops to a city he made a name with local side SC Villa between 2002-2004.
In Kampala, Amavubi have been booked in Sports View Hotel, a few meters from Nambole Stadium.
Rwanda are drawn in Group C alongside Malawi, Zanzibar and Eritrea and open their campaign on Nov. 26 against the Flames followed by clashes with Zanzibar (Nov. 29) and Eritrea (Dec. 1).
Group A pits together the defending champions Uganda against Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan while Group B has Tanzania, Somalia, Burundi and 2007 champions Sudan.
The top two teams from each group together with the best two third placed teams will qualify for the quarter-finals slated for December 3 – 4.
Last year, Amavubi romped to the final only to lose to the Uganda Cranes in penalty shoot-outs. It was the fifth time Rwanda had lost in the final.