Al Ahly, Liberty Out of Kagame Cup

Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)

Japheth Kazenga

25 May 2011

THE Council of East and Central African Football Associations (CECAFA) has withdrawn invitation for Egyptian giant Al-Ahly and Ghanaian side Liberty Professional to play at the forthcoming Kagame Cup, as the regional soccer governing body looks into shifting the tournament to Dar es Salaam.

CECAFA chairman, Leodegar Tenga, who also doubles as the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) president, said in the city yesterday the decision to lock the guest teams out aims at reducing costs, which could otherwise be huge should the teams be invited.

CECAFA has decided to shift the venue for the prestigious regional club championship Khartoum Sudan over security concerns. Tenga said TFF is now seeking sponsors to meet accommodation costs while the federation will be responsible for the rest of the organization’s costs.

“We will not be having guest teams this time around as we want to minimize organization costs. That is so far the only negative part of the whole plan,” said Tenga.

He said he proposed that the tournament should be held in Dar es Salaam as Sudan, which was previously expected to host it, could not do so because of the ongoing political crisis in the country.

Last year’s event, held in Rwanda, saw CECAFA invite TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but the club was later kicked out of the tournament after some of its players attacked the referee when the team played APR of Rwanda.

Meanwhile, Tenga said CECAFA will discuss the apology sent by Yanga, who are currently serving a three-year ban from the Kagame Cup after failing to honour their match against rivals, Simba, in one of the regional competitions.

Yanga recently apologized to the regional soccer body and requested to be allowed to compete in regional events.

“If Yanga have really apologized, that is good news we will discuss the matter and see what should be done next”, said Tenga.

In another development, Tenga has hailed the organization of the ongoing Taifa Cup tournament, saying it is a sure sign of encouraging progress of domestic soccer.

“I would like to thank everyone who has participated in the organization of the tournament. They have done a very good job. I also express my sincere gratitude to sponsors, Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) for their continuous support, because it has proved crucial to the successful organization of the event,” he said.

He urged all domestic soccer teams to look for talents in the tournament because there have been plenty of gifted players in the event.

“Taifa Cup is a true yardstick of the progress of domestic soccer. It is undoubtedly a breeding ground for talents and I urge teams to recruit players from the tournament with a view to bolstering their respective squads and maintaining effective promotion of the sport,” he said.

Taifa Cup final will be played at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium in Arusha on Saturday, pitting ‘Mwanza Heroes’ against the winner of yesterday’s second semi-final between Kagera ‘Lweru Eagles’ and Mbeya.

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