Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)
Andrew Oryada
2 December 2011
REPRESENTATIVES of the Council for East and Central African Football (Cecafa) region at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Sudan will hold a training camp in Doha ahead of the tournament in January.
Head coach Mohamed Abdalla Mazda told the ‘Daily News on Saturday’ in an exclusive interview on Thursday that they are taking the Nations Cup very seriously and they will pitch camp in Doha.
“We shall also play some build-up games against Tunisia, Libya, Senegal and Guinea to tune the team,” added Mazda.
Sudan is pooled alongside Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Angola in Group B of the Africa Cup of Nations to take place in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
“We have gained some experience after appearing in the 2008 Nations Cup and we hope to do better this time,” added Mazda.
Asked about his team’s performance at the Cecafa Tusker Senior Challenge Cup where they have picked two draws and scored only one goal, Mazda said he is not worried at all because they are using this event to also try to pick the final team for the Africa Cup of Nations.
“We had some players participate in the recent LG Africa Cup in Morocco, some are currently in Doha for the Asian Games and after critical analysis of the players we shall select the final team.
The coach admitted that although wining the Cecafa trophy is not his major focus, he said carrying the trophy home will be a plus and a good motivator as they head for the Nations Cup.
About the tough teams they have been paired against, Mazda said although he respects Cote D’Ivoire, Angola and Burkina Faso, he thinks his team will be out to cause some serious surprises.
Mazda’s team will have to overcome Harambee Stars of Kenya on Saturday in a last group game or exit the 2011 Cecafa Tusker Senior Challenge Cup.
AllAfrica – All the Time