Simba, Vital’o in Kagame Cup Opener

The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)

Majuto Omary

21 June 2011

Mainland giants Simba face a testing start to their 2011 East and Central Africa Club Championship campaign with an opening day fixture against Burundi’s Vital’O at the National Stadium on Saturday.

The Group A match will start at 4pm, according to the fixtures released yesterday by the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa).Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) Secretary General Angetile Osiah said yesterday that the anxiously awaited showdown will be preceded by another interest-generating encounter between Zanzibar Ocean Views and Etincelles of Rwanda.

Burundi champions Vital’O are expected in the country today. The other foreign teams will jet in tomorrow.

The Msimbazi Reds, smarting after ungraceful elimination in the CAF Confederation, will be fighting for a win against the Burundi giants so as to appease their disgruntled fans.

Moses Basena team’s hopes to make it into the group stage of the Confederation Cup fizzled into smoke on Sunday when they tumbled 2-0 to DC Motema Pembe in a return leg match in Kinshasa.

According to the TFF secretary, there will be three matches on Saturday. Rwanda’s APR will launch their title defence campaign against Ports FC of Djibouti in a Group C match at the Jamhuri Stadium in Morogoro.

Other teams in the four-team group are Ulinzi of Kenya and Ethiopia’s St. George.Mainland champions Young Africans have been sidelined until Sunday when they face El Merreikh of Sudan in a Group B match at the National Stadium.

The other teams in the group are Bunamwaya of Uganda and Somalia’s Elman.Two top teams in each group and the best losers will make it into the quarter finals starting on July 4 at the National Stadium. The semi finals will take place at the same venue on July 6 and 7.

Osiah said Yanga, Simba and Ocean View will be allowed to field their new signings in what promises to be mouth-watering tournament.The winner of the competition will take home $30,000 and $20,000 will go to the runners up, while the third-placed will get $10,000.

AllAfrica – All the Time