Cecafa to boost Stars

MARCIO Maximo

MARCIO Maximo has said the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup tournament will boost his young team ahead of the 2010 joint World Cup/Cup of Nations qualifiers. “Up next for us is the Cecafa Challenge Cup, which will help our preparations and enable us to hit the ground running in qualifying,” the Taifa Stars coach told the FIFA website.

“You have to take into account that we have a very young team that is improving all the time. Our squad has an average age of only 22 and a half and because of that, they are gaining experience every day and with every game. That's why I'm so confident," he added.
Tanzania is in Group One alongside Cameroon, Cape Verde and Mauritius. Maximo said Cameroon are favourites. “"Cameroon are the favourites, heavy favourites, in our group. But the other three teams, ourselves included, all have a similar chance,” he added.

Charles Emedec, the Cameroon FA Vice-President, was cautious about his team’s chances: "We might be favourites, but we mustn't take any of the other teams lightly. It's a tough group but if we work hard and concentrate on the matter in hand, we should be able to come through." Meanwhile, the teams that will compete in the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup are expected to start arriving on December 5, it was revealed.

The TFF Information Officer, Florian Kaijage, yesterday told the ‘Daily News’ that they expect all the teams to be in Dar es Salaam and Arusha by December 6, ready for the tournament that will kick off two days later. The organizers have drawn the teams into three groups. The two groups will play in Dar es Salaam, while Group C will go to Arusha.

Reports from Arusha had it that the Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium has been closed for renovation. The venue will reopen when the regional tournament starts. Other countries set to compete in the tournament are Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, Zanzibar, Djibouti, Eritrea, Uganda and Sudan