NEWS
CECAFA U-23 Challenge Cup: South Sudan storm semis, Uganda out
South Sudan and Tanzania have this afternoon booked places in the semi finals of the CECAFA U-23 Challenge Cup ongoing in the Ethiopian town of Bahir Dar.
In the first game South Sudan defeated Djibouti 2-0 to finish second in Pool B, but qualified as the best runner-up among all the three pools.
After dominating the first half and missing several scoring opportunities, the South Sudan team returned determined and scored two second half goals through Mabior Akeck Aluk after 87 minutes and a penalty converted by Dominic Angelo Kornelio.
Djibouti also had Mohamed Fouad Mohamed and Abass Fouad Abdourahman miss the target early in the second half.
Abkar Abdelkarim Mutwakil, the South Sudan captain said they played their hearts out as a team and were determined to win.
In the second game Tanzania with stood a lot of pressure, but still managed to draw 1-1 with Uganda to book their place in the knock out stage.
Tanzania’s goalkeeper Boniface Mnata Metacha stopped Steven Dese Mukwala’s penalty early in the game after Sospeter Israel Bajana had handled the ball in the box. But the Tanzanian team also earned a penalty after Msehack Abraham Mwamita had been brought down in the box. Sospeter Isreal Bajana stepped forward and sent the Ugandan goalkeeper Charles Lukwago the wrong side after 30 minutes.
The Ugandan team put a lot of pressure as the Tanzanians defended in numbers. In the second half Mukwala leveled matters for Uganda when he slotted in after 40 minutes.
Uganda continued to dominate the match, but the Tanzanian team defended well to book a place in the knock out stage. Tanzania beat guest side Democratic Republic of Congo 1-0 in their opening match.
“I am delighted that we are through to the semi final after a very tough game against Uganda,” said Tanzania’s head coach Kim Poulsen.
Uganda’s coach Morley Byekwaso said that the penalty miss had brought Tanzania back into the game. “Although we have failed to make it to the next stage, I am happy that the boys managed to express themselves well,” added Byekwaso.
Tanzania will now face South Sudan, while Kenya battle Burundi in the semi-finals. While the Djibouti team that is ranked ninth after the Pool stage will head back home, the other teams Ethiopia, Uganda, DR Congo and Eritrea will play classification matches.
Mlandege Football Club have won their eighth Zanzibar Premier League title.
In the hotly contested 2024/2025 PBZ Premier League, Mlandege FC emerged champions after finishing with 62 points, beating second placed KVZ FC to the title by a better goal difference.
Mlandege FC clinched the title on the last day on June 6th after a 4-2 win against New City FC, while rivals KVZ FC edged Kipanga FC 1-0 to also pick a total of 62 points.
Abbdalla Iddi Pinna who netted a brace in Mlandege FC’s 4-2 win against KVZ FC on the last day thanked all his teammates for the hard work throughout the season. “We have worked hard to win the title,” added Pinna.
Mlandege FC who had last lifted the title in the 2019-2000 season will now represent Zanzibar in the T20256/2026 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and the CECAFA Dar Port Kagame Cup.
A 10-man Burundi national team picked a 1-0 win against Guinea Bissau in an international friendly match played at the Stade Municipal de Berrechid, Morocco on Friday night.
After a goalless first half, Bienvenue Kanakimana gave Burundi the lead after 55 minutes.
The Guinea Bissau team pushed forward, but Burundi defended well. Burundi’s goalkeeper Onesime Rukundo was later sent-off.
Patrick Mayani Sangwa, the Burundi head coach thanked his players for working hard to get a win. “It was a tough game, but the team worked hard to get a god result. Now we focus on our next game against Mauritania on June 10th,” said Sangwa.
In other matches played on June 6th, Uganda Cranes suffered a 3-0 defeat to Cameroon in an international friendly match played in Morocco, while Tanzania held South Sudan to a goalless draw.
Another team from the CECAFA Zone Amavubi of Rwanda suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Algeria on June 5th.
Tanzania’s Taifa Stars will be the only guest side at the Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup 2025 that kicked off in South Africa today.
The competition organized by the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) has attracted 14 national teams.
Tanzania replaced Morocco for the competition which will climax on June 15th in Mangaung, Bloemfontein.
Coach Hemed Suleiman’s team will kick start their Group C campaign on June 7th against Madagascar at the Toyota Stadium, then take on Eswatini in their second pool game on June 11th at the same venue. Taifa Stars will however start with an international friendly match against South Africa to be played on June 6th in Polokwane.
Tanzania who have only included a handful of professional players will use the tournament to prepare for the TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship finals that they will co-host with Kenya and Uganda in August.
Taifa Stars have featured in the Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup three times before, including in the inaugural year in 1997.
Group A: South Africa, Mozambique, Mauritius, Zimbabwe
Group B: Angola, Namibia, Malawi, Lesotho
Group C: Tanzania, Madagascar, Eswatini
Group D: Zambia, Comoros, Botswana
Jamus Sports Club are the champions of the inaugural 2024/2025 South Sudan Premier League
Making their first appearance in the South Sudan Premier League, Jamus SC finished unbeaten after stopping Al Hilal FC Wau 5-1 in their last match played on Saturday.
Christian Theodore gave Jamus SC the lead after 10 minutes at the Juba National Stadium. George Rodriguez added two more goals for Jamus SC before the interval.
Mario Taban made it 4-0 for Jamus SC two minutes into the second half, and Rodriguez completed his hat-trick. Fadul Osman pulled a goal back for Al Hilal FC Wau.
Jamus SC finished the season with 68 points from 26 matches played. The team won 21 matches and recorded five draws. Kator FC finished third with 62 points, while former champions El Merriekh SC Bentiu collected 58 points to finish in third place.
Jamus SC have been in very good form this season which saw them also win the Super Cup and Zain South Sudan Cup.
The team will now represent South Sudan in the 2025/2026 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and the CECAFA Dar Port Kagame Cup.
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