Kili Stars drawn in group of death

Dar es Salaam. The Mainland soccer team, Kilimanjaro Stars, have been drawn in arguably the toughest group in the forthcoming Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup to be held in Ethiopia starting November 21.

According to the draw held in Addis Ababa yesterday, the Kilimanjaro Stars are in group A together with hosts Ethiopia, Zambia and Somalia.

Both Ethiopia and Zambia are highly placed in the Fifa world rankings, which would mitigate Kilimanjaro Stars chances of going past the group stage.

Zanzibar, who are allowed to compete in the tournament as an independent country, will be represented by the Heroes and are in Group C, which comprises Sudan, Rwanda and South Sudan.

The group will have a derby of sorts with the newest nation in the region, South Sudan drawn with the 2013 finalists Sudan.

And the match nicknamed the Cecafa derby will take place right in the group stage when Kenya face off with traditional rivals Uganda in Group B. Other countries in the pool are Burundi and Djibouti.

Kenya are the defending champions having won the previous edition in Nairobi after spanking three-time champions Sudan 2-0 with a brace from Allan Wanga.

The Harambee Stars, however, face a tall order to rise from the group considering that their eternal nemesis and record winners Uganda are in the fold.

Zambia, who are in Group A, will be the only guest team competing in this year’s edition. Malawi had earlier shown interest to participate.

The tournament is scheduled to run until December 6.

The 2014 edition was not held after Ethiopia opted against hosting the annual competition in which only players that ply their trade within the Cecafa region are eligible to play.

Meanwhile, Majuto Omary reports that the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) has appointed Abdallah Kibadeni as the head coach of Kilimanjaro Stars for the Cecafa Challenge Cup.

According to a TFF insider, Kibadeni will be assisted by former Taifa Stars striker Juma Mgunda. The team, which will be named later, will fly to the Ethiopian capital on November 19.

The appointment has brought to an end a system that forced the Taifa Stars head coach to take charge of the Mainland side at the Cecafa event.

The source said the decision was reached during the TFF’s technical committee meeting.

“The committee wants the Taifa Stars coach (Charles Mkwasa) to concentrate on issues pertaining to the national team only, so the traditional system has been scrapped,” he said.

“They now face a challenge of selecting players for the Ethiopia tournament, but I think majority of them will be from Taifa Stars.”

Asked for comment, the TFF secretary general, Mwesigwa Celestine, confirmed that Mkwasa will not be in charge of the Kili Stars like his predecessors.

Mkwasa leads the technical bench for Taifa Stars, which on Saturday will host Algeria in the first leg of the 2018 World Cup qualifier.