NEWS
Coaches happy with CAF-CECAFA Safeguarding workshops
Several coaches have praised the on-going CAF-CECAFA safeguarding workshops taking place in the region.
Speaking after the CAF-CECAFA safeguarding workshop held at the Tanganyika Law Society Conference Hall on Monday, Uganda’s U-20 coach Matia Lule thanked the regional body and CAF for constantly organising these workshops which he believes will bring in lots of awareness to players and officials.
“Everyday we learn something new and with these safeguarding trainings it will help the players shape their dreams better. There are many things we did not know about and now we are learning through these trainings,” added Lule.
Juma Kaseja, Tanzania’s former national goalkeeper and now goalkeeper’s coach for the U-20 team although thanked CAF and CECAFA for the initiative of having the safeguarding workshops. He made it clear that during their playing days they were not lucky to have some of the trainings which take place today. “Players must be disciplined and work hard if they are to achieve some of their dreams,” said Kaseja.
Former Rwanda national captain and now coach of the U-20 team, Eric Nshimiyimana also made it clear that he is impressed with the safeguarding workshops CAF and CECAFA are organizing. “We are learning a lot of things and the talk today by the Scout from France also helped many of us learn certain things,” he added.
CECAFA Administrator and Safeguarding Officer, Veronica Lusichi from Kenya stressed the importance of helping the youngsters achieve their goals. “We are very happy with efforts all the Members Associations are doing in regards to safeguarding,” said Lusichi.
The workshop focused on preventing player trafficking in Football. During his presentation, Omar Sciolla, a Scout with French side Olympique Lyonnaise advised the players and coaches to always be very careful when agents show interest in the players.
The workshop was also instructed by Rwanda’s Jules Karangwa and Youssuf Mossi, the CECAFA Competitions Manager.
The Harambee Stars of Kenya will be all out to try and get a win against Zimbabwe in a Group J match of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 qualifying match.
Zimbabwe who are second on the log with 8 points will host the match at the New Peter Moraba Stadium in Polokwane, South Africa.
Kenya who are third on the table with 4 points will need only a win to revive their hopes of qualification. Cameroon who drew goalless against bottom placed Namibia few days ago have already sealed qualification with 11 points and one game to be played.
Engin Firat, the Kenya head coach has maintained that they will have to be very cautious facing Zimbabwe. “This is a match which means lot to us and we must handle it with care,” added Firat.
Uganda Cranes who already qualified for the AFCON 2025 on Thursday after South Sudan defeated Congo Brazzaville will also host South Sudan in a Group K match at the Mandela National Stadium in Namboole on Friday.
Uganda lead the Group with 10 points, while Bafana Bafana are second with 8 points. Congo Brazzaville are third on the log with 4 points, while South Sudan have collected 3 points
Meanwhile, in matches played on Thursday involving teams from the CECAFA Zone South Sudan defeated Congo Brazzaville 3-2, while Niger shocked Sudan 4-0 in a Group F match. Burundi also settled for a goalless draw against Malawi, while Rwanda suffered a 1-0 defeat to Libya in a Group D match played in Kigali.
The Falcons of Jediane, Sudan will be all out to win against Niger on Thursday to seal qualification for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025.
Sudan who are placed second in Group F with 7 points need to beat bottom placed Niger in a match that will be played at the Stade de Kegue in Lome, Togo.
James Kwesi Appiah, the Sudan head coach has said his team is aware of what this match against Niger means to them and they are more than determined to collect maximum points. “We must go all out and hurt for the goals and also defend well as a unit,” said Appiah.
Sudan improved their chances of qualification last month when they held Ghana to a 1-1 draw in the away match, and later picked a 2-0 win against the same side in a match they hosted at the Martyrs of February Stadium in Benina, Libya.
The Sudan team will hope that Ahmed Al Tash and Mohamed Abdelrahman who scored against Ghana last month find their scoring touch again in this important fixture. Victory for Sudan will mean they automatically qualify before event facing table leaders Angola (12 points) in their last Group match.
On Thursday three other teams from the CECAFA Zone Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi will also be in action.
Rwanda who are placed third in Group D will need to beat bottom placed Libya to revive their hopes of qualification. The match will take place at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali.
Torsten Spittler Frank, the Amavubi head coach has called on his players to go all out and fight to pick three points. The second Group D match will see table leaders Nigeria face second placed Benin.
South Sudan who are yet to collect a single point in the qualifiers will play host to Congo Brazzaville in a Group K match that will take place at the Juba National Stadium, while Burundi will host Malawi in a Group L match at the Felix Houhouet Boigny Stadium in Abijan, Ivory Coast.
Action will return on Friday with Uganda hosting South Africa in a Group K match that promises to be a thriller. Kenya will also play away to Zimbabwe in a Group J match to be played at the Peter Moraba Stadium in Polokwane, South Africa.
Fixture for CECAFA teams
November 14
Rwanda vs Libya
Niger vs Sudan
South Sudan vs Congo Brazzaville
Burundi vs Malawi
November 15
Zimbabwe vs Kenya
Uganda vs South Africa
November 16
Ethiopia vs Tanzania
The 2025 non elective General Assembly of the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) will take place in Juba, South Sudan.
Auka John Gecheo, the Executive Director of CECAFA disclosed that the South Sudan Football Association (SFFA) has agreed to host the Assembly.
“We are happy and glad that SSFA has come forward and offered to host the Assembly in Juba next year. The Assembly which will bring together all CECAFA Members will take place between January and February,” added Gecheo.
He made it clear that the Assembly will do a review of the past activities and also plan for the 2025 calendar.
This year alone CECAFA has organized the Dar Port Kagame Cup, the CAF Women’s Champions League CECAFA qualifiers and the Africa Cup of Nations U-20 CECAFA qualifiers. The Zone will also organize the CAF Schools Football Tournament CECAFA Zone and the Africa Cup of Nations U-17 CECAFA qualifiers next month.
CECAFA also managed to orgainse the Women’s Football leadership course in Ethiopia and the Match Coordinators workshop in Nairobi, Kenya.
Gen. Agustino Madout Parek, President of SSFA and Vice President of CECAFA has made it clear that they are prepared to host a successful Assembly.
This year Kenya hosted the CECAFA General Assembly on 16th, February, 2024 in Mombasa, while the 2-2023 Assembly took place in Zanzibar.
The 12 CECAFA members include; Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea and Zanzibar.
Nine Member Association will send teams to participate in the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 for the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Zone.
Uganda will host the qualifiers slated for December 14-28th, 2024.
Yusuf Mossi, the CECAFA Competitions Director confirmed that nine member countries have registered for the qualifiers that will see the best two teams book slots to represent the Zone at the continental tournament.
Mossi, who was in Uganda early this week to inspect the facilities in Bukedea, Mbale and Kampala told Cecafaonline.com that they expect a very competitive tournament because most teams are already training.
He confirmed that the hosts Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Tanzania.
Mossi also asked all teams that will take part to first carry out Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests for the players before they travel to Uganda for the tournament. When all the teams arrive in Uganda, the players will undergo the MRI tests by the designated Confederation of African Football (CAF) doctors.
In the last Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) U-17 Zonal qualifiers held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2022, Somalia beat South Sudan 3-1 in the final.
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