FIFA sponsored tournaments will help Cecafa members build teams – Musonye

The Secretary General of the Council of East and Central African Football Associations (Cecafa), Nicholas Musonye has praised FIFA for sponsoring youth and women tournaments in the region. Speaking to Cecafafootball on Thursday Musonye said the tournaments sponsored under the FIFA Forward Programme will help members of the region build their teams that are the future of tomorrow.

“I thank FIFA for bringing this FIFA Forward Programme that is also supporting tournaments. In the past many of the members in the Cecafa region did not have systems, but these youth and women tournaments sponsored by FIFA will help the region build stronger teams,” added Musonye.

He made it clear that the only way Cecafa teams can compete with teams from North Africa, West Africa and South Africa is by concentrating on building the youth teams. “There are no short cuts in football because it’s about building the youth who are the stars of tomorrow,” added Musonye.

He also appreciated the efforts of the Cecafa members who host some of these tournaments and sacrifice a lot to make things happen. “We had the Cecafa Kagame Cup in Rwanda, the U-15 in Eritrea and now U-20 in Uganda. We still have three more tournaments to complete the season,” added Musonye.

The Cecafa Secretary General also called upon governments in the region to support football. “Football is a very big sport that needs good partnerships with governments. Our members must develop good relations with their respective governments,” he added.

The Cecafa U-20 Challenge Cup enters the final stage on Saturday with Eritrea facing Sudan in the play-off before Tanzania and Kenya Rising Stars battle in the final.