Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda,
Tanzania, Rwanda, Sudan, Somalia, Sudan, Zambia
and Zimbabwe will feature in the event
NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- The Zanzibar and Burundi national teams to this year this year’s Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) Orange Senior Challenge Cup tournament have arrived in Nairobi for the event.
The annual event kicks off on Saturday in Nairobi and Mumias in western Kenya.
Cecafa Press Officer, Finny Muyeshi, confirmed Wednesday that the two sides are already in Nairobi gearing up for the annual tournament that will bring together 13 teams.
Somalia and Tanzania are due in Thursday, while defending champion, Uganda, jet on in Friday.
Other teams due to arrive here for the 33rd edition of the event are Cecafa members Rwanda, Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan.
Guest sides Zimbabwe and Zambia will also feature in the tournament which the Zambians will use to gear up for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Angola in January.
Zambia and Zimbabwe are former members of Cecafa, who opted for the southern African regional soccer body (Cosafa) upon its formation in the early 1990s.
Cecafa secretary-general Nicholas Musonye told journalists that the invitation of Zambia and Zimbabwe is geared towards strengthening good relationship between Cecafa and Cosafa.
It’s also geared towards making the regional event more competitive. He added that all the referees selected to oversee the matches had all arrived in the country.
"They are currently undergoing the regular pre-tournament training in Nairobi. The training started today (Wednesday) and will end on Friday afternoon," he said.
"The training, which brings together a total of 18 referees, is very critical for the tournament," he said.
Orange, one of Kenya’s telecommunication companies, is the title sponsor of this year’s tournament which is coming back to Kenya after a fourteen year hiatus.
Kenya last won the tournament in 2002.
Ugandans are the current title holders.
Kenya’s Harambee Stars clash with Zambia in the opening match here on Saturday.
Thirteen teams—Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Sudan, Somalia, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe will feature in the event—the oldest regional tournament in Africa.
Source:coastweek.com/
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