South Sudan’s Lazarus Peter George Laku has said finishing as the top scorer in the CECAFA U-15 Boys Championship has motivated him to even work harder.

The South Sudan team finished fourth in the CECAFA U-15 Boys Championship which ended on November 16th, 2023 in the Eastern town of Njeru in Uganda.

Laku who captained the South Sudan team also received the top scorer’s Award after finishing with eight goals in the competition. ” This is an Award which I will always remember in my football journey. The Award is going to motivate me more to work harder so that I can become a better player to represent the senior national team and may be also play for a club in Europe in future, ” added the striker.

He also thanked the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) for providing a platform for U-15s to play at a competitive level. ” The tournament has helped us get used to competitive football playing with other teams, ” added Laku.

The 15-year Laku currently featured for Future Stars Football Academy back in Juba.

The curtains will come down this evening when the CECAFA U-15 Boys Championship 2023 comes to a climax at the FUFA technical Centre in Njeru, Uganda.

Reigning champions Uganda Rhinos will face a well organised Zanzibar team in the final which promises to be a thriller. To reach the final Uganda saw-off Tanzania 2-1, while Zanzibar battled to win 4-2 on penalties against South Sudan after the match had tied 1-1.

Mohamed Mrishona Mohamed, the Zanzibar coach has made it clear that his team is very hungry to prove a point. ” It is long since any of our teams got to a final. We know facing the hosts will not be easy, but the players are very motivated to give their best, ” added Mohamed.

The Zanzibar team led by skipper Mohamed Mohamed won all their three matches convincingly in the group stage to make it to the knock out. ” We are determined to try and go and win to make the people of Zanzibar happy, ” says the captain.

Uganda Rhinos who have won all their four matches in 90 minutes will of course hope that the home support counts against a tactically and physically strong Zanzibar side. Hamuza Lutalo, the Uganda coach has maintained that they will not take the final for granted.

« We know this is a final and we shall treat it with a lot of caution. We need to take our chances and play as a team because Zanzibar is a strong team, » added the Uganda Rhinos coach.

Enock Bagenda who has netted six goals in the competition so far together with Richard Okello are expected to lead Uganda’s hunt for goals.

But before the final, Tanzania will face South Sudan in a play-off to decide which team finishes third.

The competiton which attracted eight teams was used to prepare ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) U-17 Zonal qualifiers next year.

Collected Group results

Ethiopia 1 South Sudan 1

Uganda 15 Djibouti 0

Zanzibar 3 Rwanda 0

Tanzania 1 Somalia 0

Djibouti 1 Ethiopia 8

South Sudan 0 Uganda 3

Somalia 0 Zanzibar 4

Rwanda 1 Tanzania 2

Djibouti 0 South Sudan 12

Uganda 4 Ethiopia 0

Somalia 1 Rwanda 0

Tanzania 0 Zanzibar 2

Uganda Rhinos and Zanzibar will face0-off in the final of the CECAFA U-15 Boys Championship 2023 at the FUFA Technical Centre in Njeru on Thursday.

To reach the final the reigning champions saw off Tanzania 2-1 in the first semi final, while Zanzibar stopped South Sudan 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in full time in the semi finals played today.

Coach Hamuza Lutalo’s started off comfortably scoring through Abubakali Walusimbi and Samuel Mubiru in the first half.

But after recess the Tanzanian team fought back strongly to put a goal back through Feisal Juma after 83 minutes.

It was Uganda’s fourth straight win in the competition after they also saw off Djibouti, South Sudan and Ethiopia in the group stage.

Lutalo said he was happy that they have so far won all their four matches enroute to the final. ” We need to keep focused because a final is very different and there is a lot of tension, ” added Lutalo.

The hosts who lifted the U-15 title when the Championship was last held in Asmara, Eritrea in 2019 will now face Zanzibar who beat South Sudan 4-2 on penalties that had ended 1-1 in full time in the second semi final played on Monday.

Abdulhafidh Salim gave Zanzibar the lead after only five minutes, but Anur Loburo leveled matters after 34 minutes. During the penalty shoutout Zanzibar’s goalkeeper Mahir Amour saved Ajo Lomoro and Victor Elizaya’s kicks.

” We are very happy to get here to the final. We know facing the home team will not be easy, but we shall be prepared, ” said a happy Zanzibar coach Mohamed Mrishona Mohamed.

The tournament attracted Uganda, Zanzibar, Rwanda, Tanzania, Somalia, South Sudan, Djibouti and Ethiopia.

The semi final stage at the on-going CECAFA U-15 Boys Championship is now set after all group matches were concluded on Saturday at the FUFA technical centre in Njeru, Uganda.

After Uganda Rhinos completed top of Group A and South Sudan finishing second on Friday, Zanzibar stopped 10-man Tanzania 2-0 on Saturday to top Group B.

The Zanzibar team converted two second half penalties through Adan Shaaban and Lukman Omar, while Tanzania had goalkeeper Abraham Massoro set-off late in the match.

In an earlier Group B match Somalia registered their only win of the competition seeing of Rwanda 1-0. Mohamed Mohamed netted the lone goal after 17 minutes.

” We have witnessed some interesting matches in the group stage and we hope to see more great matches at the knock out stage. This is a very good platform for the youngsters as they prepare ahead of the AFCON U-17 Zonal qualifiers next year, ” said Yussuf Mossi, the CECAFA Competitions Director.

On Monday Zanzibar will face South Sudan, while Uganda Rhinos battle Tanzania in the second semi final clash.

Collected results

Ethiopia 1 South Sudan 1

Uganda 15 Djibouti 0

Zanzibar 3 Rwanda 0

Tanzania 1 Somalia 0

Djibouti 1 Ethiopia 8

South Sudan 0 Uganda 3

Somalia 0 Zanzibar 4

Rwanda 1 Tanzania 2

Djibouti 0 South Sudan 12

Uganda 4 Ethiopia 0

Somalia 1 Rwanda 0

Tanzania 0 Zanzibar 2