Tanzania to face Somalia in CECAFA under 17 final

This is after Kenya and Uganda took a tumble at the penultimate hurdle in Burundi to Tanzania and Somalia respectively in the 2018 edition of the CECAFA U17 Championships.

The Kenya U17 national team went down 1-2 to Tanzania in the semi-final that was staged at the Gitega Stadium in Burundi on Wednesday 25 April.

The Serengeti Boys came from a goal down after Isaiah Abwal had given the Michael Amenga coached side the lead in the 10th minute; Tanzania restoring parity through Jafar Juma in the 21st minute as the game went to the breather tied on a 1-1 deadlock.

The youngsters from Tanzania then had Kelvin Paul to thank as his 62nd minute goal proved the difference, to book a slot in the final.

Somalia shocked defending champions Uganda Cubs 1-0 in one of the semi-final games at the on-going CECAFA U-17 Championship in Burundi.

Uganda Cubs who won the trophy when the Championship was last held in 2009 failed to match the Somalia team that played a highly passing game at the Gitega Stadium.

Ahmed Farhaman scored the winner for Somalia early in the first half. The Uganda Cub piled pressure and got a penalty that Sula Mpuga missed in the second half.

Before the semifinal, Uganda Cubs drew 1-1 with Tanzania in the opening Group B game. They followed with a 3-0 win over Sudan to qualify for the semifinals.

“It is disappointing that we created several scoring chances, but failed to score,” Uganda coach Peter Onen said after the game.

Tanzania joined Somalia in the final after they humbled Kenya 2-1 in the second semifinal game also played on Wednesday.

Somalia started the tournament with a 3-0 loss to Zanzibar, but were awarded the points and three goals after Zanzibar was disqualified from the tournament when they were discovered to have 12 over age players.

The Somalia team handled by Salad Farah Hassan went on to defeat Kenya 1-0 in another group game and also drew goalless against the hosts Burundi.

The tournament that attracted Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia and hosts Burundi is fully sponsored by the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA).