‘Cecafa good test for Afcon’

Tanzania Mainland’s national soccer team, Kilimanjaro Stars, will camp in Nairobi, Kenya for five days ahead of this year’s Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup.

Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) information officer Alfred Lucas said yesterday that players will report at camp in the city on Sunday and leave for Nairobi two days later.

Newly appointed Kilimanjaro Stars head coach, Ammy Ninje has unveiled a 20-man squad for the Challenge to be held in Kenya from December 3 to 17.

Having held a coaching position at Hull City Academy, Ninje will be looking to further enhance his already ‘impressive CV’ when he leads the team at the regional tournament.

Lucas said the Cecafa tournament will give the Kili Stars a clear picture of where they stand ahead of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers.

Kili Stars are in Group A, which also has Rwanda’s Amavubi, Zanzibar Heroes and Libya, who will compete as guest side.

Rwanda and Libya will use the regional tournament as part of preparations for CHAN finals 2018 in Morocco.

“The Cecafa Challenge Cup will give us a clear picture of how we will perform in the Nations Cup qualifiers,” the TFF official said.

“We want to go into this year’s Challenge Cup looking to win all our games, which would be a big morale booster,” he said.

“Uganda Cranes will also be in Kenya for the Cecafa Cup, so it will help us to know how they play before facing them in the Afcon match early next year,” he added.

The Kilimanjaro Stars constitute the bulk of players making up the national soccer team, Taifa Stars, who will launch their 2019 Afcon campaign against Uganda Cranes on March 23 at the National Stadium.

The TFF official expressed optimism that Ninje’s men would return home from Kenya as Cecafa Challenge Cup champions.

They are in Group A together with Zanzibar Heroes, Rwanda, hosts Kenya and Libya, who will compete as a guest team.

The Kili Stars will launch their Challenge Cup campaign against Libya on December 3, two hours before Kenya’s Harambee Stars confront Amavubi of Rwanda.

They will swing back into action on December 7 against Zanzibar Heroes. They will also face Rwanda before winding up their group stage against hosts Kenya on December 11.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has roped in Sunday Chidzambwa as caretaker coach for the national side for the Cecafa tournament.

The move comes a few weeks after ZIFA accepted the invitation to play as a guest nation at this year’s edition of the East and Central Africa Championship.

Zimbabwe will join Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia for the tournament.

Chidzambwa, the highly-experienced coach, led Zimbabwe to their first Africa Cup of Nations qualification in 2004.

He has also enjoyed considerable success in the Southern African region, winning this year’s Cosafa Cup hosted in South Africa in July.

Although he faces player availability challenges, Chidzambwa will have to pick his squad before the Zimbabwean Premier Soccer League programme finishes.

However, by the time the last round of matches are played, the Warriors will already be in Kenya which means some clubs may not be able to release their players.