Cecafa Secretary General Nicholas Musonye with FUFA President Lawrence Mulindwa in Dar es Salaam in 2010. Musonye has sent congratulatory message to FUFA for beating Angola.
The Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (Cecafa) has sent congratulatory messages to both Uganda and Ethiopia upon picking positive results in last weekend’s World Cup Qualifiers matches.
“I congratulate Ethiopia for reaching the last round of qualifiers after beating South Africa. I also congratulate Uganda for a late rally to beat Angola and coming close to the final round too.” reads part of the official message signed by the Cecafa Secretary General Nicholas Musonye.
Musonye further commended the two respective Federations for the commitment in preparing their national football ‘A’ teams. “I also congratulate the FA’s of the two nations because of their commitment and focused leadership….they are not wasting their energy on trivial issues and sideshows. They have shown that they are true sports leaders and I wish them well. ”. Musonye further writes.
Ethiopia qualified to the next round after edging South Africa 2-1 in Addis Ababa last weekend. Uganda fought from a goal down to defeat Angola 2-1 in another weekend’s qualifiers fixture. FUFA rewarded the gallant Cranes with a cash prize of UGX 80,000,000 (About US$ 32,000).
School children marching as they wave Uganda flags during the opening ceremony of this year’s Cecafa- Kagame Cup in Kadguli, Sudan
Substitute James Kasibante scored URA’s sole goal in the 90th minute of their opening match against the home side Al-Hilal here in Kadguli on Tuesday afternoon to walk away with a crucial win that puts them in an advantageous position to qualify for the quarter finals.
Kasibante who came in for Owen Kasule in the 75th minute well utilized a cross from captain Augustine Nsumba to put the goal behind the net as the Sudanese goalkeeper Hafiz Ahmed looked stranded between goal posts.
URA will now look for a draw in their next engagement against Al-Ahly Shandi on Thursday as a minimum requirement for them to advance into the quarter finals of this year’s Cecafa Kagame Club Championship. The two qualifying teams will be airlifted to El-Fasher City in Darfur where the entire knock out matches will be staged.
URA won the first game without their head coach Paul Nkata who was reportedly left behind for having possessed an expired passport. Assistant coach Ibrahim Kirya to charge and his win silenced the mammoth home crowd that turned up in the newly constructed stadium.
URA Football club that played Al-Hilal in Kadugli
Kasibante wrote history as being the first scorer of an international goal in this new stadium while URA is the first club to win an international match here.
Express FC that also travelled without their temporally coach Sam Simbwa will be in action tomorrow (Thursday) when they take on lowly ranked Ports FC from Djibouti at 3:00pm in El-Fasher stadium here in the state of North Darfur.
Cecafa President Eng. Leodgar Tenga, the Sudanese Speaker of Council of States Gen. Adam Hamid, the sports minister of the federal government Sedeeg Mahammed, Kadguli governor Ahmed Harouna and Cecafa General Secretary Nichola Musonye were among the dignitaries that watched the opening match.
Cecafa General Secretary Nicholas Musonye being received in Kadguli by the Governor of South Kordafan.
Both URA FC and Express FC landed safely in Khartoum City Sunday evening and will be dispatched off this Monday to their respective stations.
Elsewhere Cecafa General Secretary Nicholas Musonye led a team of officials to Kadguli City for the final inspection of the facilities ahead of the official opening tomorrow. Musonye commended the Loal Organising Committee (LOC) for the impressive works on the ground.
The opening match will be hosted in a newly erected magnificent stadium constructed on funds from both the hosting state and the federal government of Khartoum. Musonye and his team were conducted around all the facilities to be used during the tournament.
The official opening match is this Tuesday between Al-Hilal Kadguli and URA. Uganda’s URA FC is temporarily accommodated at Gobaa Hotel in Khartoum but flies to Kadguli City in the State of South Kordafan where group ‘C’ is camped this Monday evening.
URA did not however travel with their head coach Paul Nkata and two players. The trio is expected here later.
Cecafa will also airlift Express FC to El-Fasher City, North Darfur. Eight out of the eleven clubs are already in Khartoum ready for the task. APR FC, Rayon Sport FC (Rwanda) and Ports FC (Djibouti) are expected today. Chad’s Electric Sport FC is the only guest club in the tournament this year and connected directly to Darfur.
Tonny Mawejje scored against Angola in Namboole yesterday.
Senegal has picked the three maximum points away from Monrovia after edging Liberia 2-0 in a group ‘J’ match played in Samuel Doe Sports Complex stadium this Sunday.
Liberia now leads the group with 9 points against 8 of Uganda. Kenyan Referee Davies Ongenche Omweno awarded a penalty to Senegal that was converted by Papiss Cisse in the 19th minute of the first half. Cisse netted the second for the Senegalese in the 54th minute before he was substituted ten minutes later by Salif Sane.
Uganda fought from a goal down to beat Angola 2-1 in Namboole yesterday . The two teams meet in September for their last group match that will determine the winner into the last group of ten.
All the sixteen invited referees for this year’s Cecafa-Kagame club championship have passed the fitness
Bugembe and Okello (in green bibs) were part of the referees who underwent fitness tests in Khartoum this Sunday morning.
tests conducted at the Military
Stadium this Sunday morning here in Khartoum City, Sudan
The results have been received by the Cecafa General Secretary Nicholas Musonye as a ‘perfect pre-kick off event’ of this region’s lucrative club championship
He further explained that eight of these match officials ewere young and new making their first appearance in the tournament
These according to Musonye include Okello Lee (Uganda), Adam Abdi (Djibouti), Pacifique Ndabihawemimana (Burundi), Hashim Adam (sudan), Pascal Ndimunzigo (Burundi), Emmanuel Ndikumasabo (Burundi), Abdullai Mohamoud (Djibouti) and Sulaiman Bashir (Somalia). Uganda is represented in the tournament by two assistant referees-Hussein Bugembe and Okello Lee.The duo was part of the group that underwent fitness tests supervised by Charles Masembe a regional CAF representative and Robert Anangwe a Referees’ instructor from Kenya among others
The other referees who have been to such tournament before are Issa Kagabo (Rwanda), Wish Yabarow (Somalia), Hakizimana Louis (Rwanda), Abdul Kadir Badrin(Sudan), Hussein Bugembe (Uganda), Mustafa Elmeday (Sudan), Ambrose Hakizimana and Khalafala Aziz (Sudan).
The tournament will officially kick off on Tuesday with home boys Al Shandy FC taking on Uganda’s tax boys URA FC at the newly constructed stadium near Kadguli airport in South Kordafan State.
Both URA FC and Express FC are expected in Khartoum later today.
Uganda has fought from a goal down to edge visiting Angola 2-1 in today’s World Cup Qualifiers match played in Mandela National stadium here in Kampala.
Tonny Mawejje was on target again against Angola on Saturday. The same player scored against Liberia last weekend.
This is the third consecutive loss for the Palance Negras in Kampala in a stretch of five years after losing 3-1 in 2008 and 3-0 in 2010.
Angola took the lead in the early minutes of the second half before Emmanuel Okwi scored an equaliser in the 83′ minute. Iceland based Tonny Mawejje netted the winner (89′) to throw Namboole in wild celebrations.This was Mawejje’s second international goal in seven days. The same player scored Uganda’s lone goal against Liberia last weekend.
Uganda now has eight points. Angola scored through Job Yano in the 57th minute.
CRANES starting lineup: Robert Odongkara (GK), Denis Guma, Godfrey Walusimbi, Andy Mwesigwa (Captain), Isaac Isinde, Hassan Wasswa, Geoffrey Baba Kizito, Moses Oloya, Tony Mawejje, Emma Okwi, Geoffrey Massa.
Substitutes: Abby Dhaira, Ali Kimera, Joseph Ochaya, Henry Kalungi, Nicholas Wadada, Joseph Mpande, Hamis Kiiza, Robert Ssentongo, Kizito Luwagga, Martin Mutumba, Said Kyeyune, Dan Sserunkuma.
Elsewhere, Sudan drew 1-1 with Zambia away in Lusaka,
Uganda’s URA FC has landed a special invitation to participate in this year’s Cecafa-Kagame club championship scheduled to kick off on July 18 at Kadguli City, South Kordofan State. CECAFA General Secretary Nicholas Musonye has officially confirmed the development.
URA joins Express FC who will participate as Uganda’s official representatives after winning the 2011/2012 League. The two clubs are expected in Khartoum on Sunday but URA has been confirmed to play the official opening match against home side Al-Hilal in Kaduguli City on Tuesday.
Express is placed in Group ‘B’ alongside Rayon Sport (Rwanda), Ports FC (Djibouti) and Chad’s Electric Sport. URA which is put in group ‘C’ will only need to finish second or top the group to storm the quarter final. The two others are home sides Al-Hilal (Kadguli) and Al-Ahly Shandi (Khartoum).
Group ‘A’ has El-Merriekh (El-Fasher), APR (Rwanda), Vitalo (Burundi) and Elman FC from Somalia. Musonye said all quarter and semi finals will be played in El-Fasher, Darfur. Below is the detailed fixture.
(Qualification: Groups ‘A’ and ‘B’ 1 -2-3 & Group ‘C’ 1-2 qualify to the quarter finals).
Iceland based Tonny Mawejje scored against Liberia last weekend and he is a likely starter against Angola.
The Angola National football team arrived in the country on Thursday with 32 officials and players on board. Seven other officials will be in the city this Friday evening.
According to the chairman of the Local Organizing Committee Dr. Patrick Ogwel, a total of 300 fans are expected into the country between Friday and Saturday morning to cheer up the guests against the Uganda Cranes.
As a FIFA/CAF requirement, Angola will take charge of their stay in Kampala. Match tickets are still on market and fans are advised to avoid last minute purchases. Further note that there will be no sell of tickets at the stadium on the match day (Saturday 15th June 2013). Fans are warned against acts of hooliganism, excessive alcoholism, abusive language and reckless driving during the match day.
More security personnel (compared to the Liberia game) will be deployed on Saturday to ensure a successful end of the game. The LOC finalized all the security preparations yesterday in a meeting attended by several security officers and operatives.
During the match, fans are further requested to avoid throwing water bottles or any other materials onto the pitch as this may result into a FIFA ban.
Acts of abusing political guests in the stadium should be avoided as well. Football is a unifying game regardless of our religion, political affiliation or tribes.
Geoffrey Walusimbi will be in camp to prepare for the Cranes match against Liberia
As the Cranes resumes training at Namboole National Stadium this evening, Coach Sredovich Micho has shortlisted a squad of 28 players from whom the final 20 will be named later in the week.
The list includes Denis Onyango, Abby Dhaira, Hamza Muwonge, Ali Kimera, Robert Odongokara, Denis Iguma, Joseph Ochaya, Nicholas Wadada, Isaac Isinde, Joseph Mpande, Said Kyeyune, Hamis Kiiza, Moses Oloya, Baba Kizito, Luwagga Kizito, and captain Andy Mwesigwa (Captain.
Others are Emmanuel Okwi, Martin Mutumba, Massa Geofrey, Henry Kalungi, Alex Kakuba, Henry Kisekka, Dan Sserunkuuma, Borban Zirintuusa, Richard Kasagga, Robert Ssentongo, Tonny Mawejje and Geoffrey Walusimbi.
The Liberian delegation jets into the country this afternoon at 2:15 Pm aboard Kenya Airways. They will be accommodated at Sojovaro Hotel in Rubaga.
Cranes Head Coach Micho will announce his 25-man squad that resumes training at Namboole this evening. The selection will partly depend on the individual performances in Tripoli.
Sweden based Martin Kayonga Mutumba (AIK FC) will arrive on Wednesday afternoon. The player has just left Arlanda Airport. Isinde Isaac and Robert Odongkara (St. George) arrive later in the night this Tuesday.
Match tickets will be on market Wednesday morning. Fans are warned against buying them outside the gazetted selling points. They should also avoid purchasing a ticket at a price lower or higher the face value.
All FM Radio Stations that intend to broadcast this game live are required to report to my office for accreditation/clearance on Wednesday between 9:00 am and 12:00 noon. Any defiance will lead to legal action.
Massa will be in camp a head of the Liberia game on Saturday
Cranes match tickets will go on sale this Wednesday morning. Each ticket goes for UGX 12,000 and UGX 33,000 for open seats and pavilion respectively.
The selling centres will include SHELL Capital and Bwaise, Hardware World Ntinda, City shoppers in Mukono Municipality and Basebuguzi and Sons (Kyadondo plaza) in Masaka.
All CITY OIL stations in Kampala that include Kamwokya, Nakawa, Bombo road, Namirembe road and Martin road will have our tickets too.
TOTAL Bwaise, Kireka, Kajansi and Nakivubo, KOBIL Kasubi, Kawempe, Jinja, Mpererwe, Kibuye and Ndeeba will also have the tickets on sale. GAPCO Ben Kiwanuka is another designated selling point.
There will be no selling of tickets at the stadium on match day. Fans are warned against buying tickets outside the designated selling points or buying them at prices higher or lower than the set prices.
Meanwhile the Liberian National team arrives on Tuesday.
Burundi FA President Lydia Nsekera becomes the first woman to be elected to the FIFA executive committee
Lydia Nsekera earns her place on the committee after receiving the most votes (95) in the first-ever election for a female candidate and is elected for four years, while Moya Dodd (70 votes) and Sonia Bien-Aime (38 votes), will also join FIFA’s top table as co-opted members, for one year.
This follows a proposal made by the FIFA President with support from the existing members of the FIFA Executive Committee to have more females in decision-making positions within football. The landmark election marks an important step in FIFA’s two-year reform process.
Burundi Football Association President Lydia Nsekera made history last year in Budapest at the 62ndFIFA Congress when she was co-opted onto the FIFA Executive Committee as the committee’s first-ever female member on an interim one-year basis.
The 63rd FIFA Congress in Mauritius is another milestone in the history of women’s representation in the football family as the 209 members showed overwhelming approval (99 per cent) for the FIFA Statutes 2013, in particular the article 24 al.3 proposing ”one candidate for the office of the female member of the Executive Committee”.
Nsekera is the 25th member of the FIFA Executive Committee composed of 24 members until today. Her mandate as approved by the Congress will be of four years beginning immediately. In case she permanently ceases to perform her official function, the Executive Committee may designate another female member until the next Congress as stipulated in the newly approved FIFA Statutes.
Nsekera, who was the first woman to be co-opted at last year’s 62nd FIFA Congress, vowed that she will “inspire women to believe they can lead, I will push them to let their girls play football because it is a school of life, and I will support women in the Member Associations.”
As proposed by the FIFA Executive Committee on 28 May, Nsekera will be accompanied by the two other candidates as co-opted members: Bien-Aime (CONCACAF) and Dodd (AFC), raising the number of females seating onto the Executive Committee to three.
The two co-opted members, who were originally nominated by their respective confederations as candidates for the female position on the Executive Committee, are highly experienced.
Dodd was a distinguished national team player who spent nine years representing Australia and became the first female member of the Football Federation Australia’s executive committee. She has also risen through the ranks of the Asian Football Confederation, an organisation in which she was recently re-elected vice-president. Dodd acknowledged before the vote that the Congress was part of a landmark occasion. “It’s a historic day for football and a great day for women,” she said. “I’d like to contribute to the best governance of the game, and to fight against match manipulation and discrimination. Football is the sport everybody loves; no-one should be excluded. And we should not only protect the game, but also fight against discrimination outside of football.”
Bien-Aime, General Secretary at the Turks & Caicos Islands Football Association (TCIFA), said before the vote took place that she believed that FIFA’s decision to include a woman on its Executive Committee represented “a great move, a very welcome move”. She added: “I welcome the opportunity to be elected; to be a voice giving opinion, a voice willing to listen and talk, a voice that just happens to be the voice of a woman.”
Abby Dhaira (left) will captain the Cranes team while Musa Mudde is a likely starter.
The Uganda Cranes arrived in Tripoli Thursday afternoon and are destined to play hosts Libya in an international friendly match this Saturday.
This will be Micho’s first assignment since he took charge of the Uganda National ‘A’ team mid last month. The match is intended to prepare the Cranes a head of the World Cup qualifiers match against Liberia on June 8 at Mandela National stadium – Namboole.
The charges have been put at UGX 33,000 and UGX 12,000 for the pavilion and open seats respectively. Uganda has not lost a single match in Namboole for the last eight years.
L-R Eng. Moses Magogo, Edgar Watson and Sam Mpiima standing behind the CAF President Dr. Issa Hayatou.
The Ugandan delegation to the FIFA Congress led by FUFA Vice President (administration) Eng. Moses Magogo has held talks with the CAF President Dr. Issa Hayatou on a number of issues aimed at improving Ugandan football.
Magogo travelled with the Chief Executive Officer Edgar Watson and Samuel Mpiima, an executive member of FUFA. Among the areas of discussion in this congress include the amendment of the FIFA statutes.
There will also be an election of a Woman representative to FIFA Executive Committee. Burundi FA President M/s Lydia Nsekera is one of the candidates vying for this position. She has been acting in this position for the last two years.
Cranes Captain Andy Mwesigwa will miss action against Libya this weekend
Uganda National ‘A’ football team, the Cranes flies out this Thursday morning for Tripoli for an international friendly match against hosts Libya on Saturday.
Coach Micho has already confirmed his 22-man travelling squad that includes Denis Onyango, Abby Dhaira and Ali Kimera as goal keepers. Other players are Iguma Denis, Emuge Israel, Kabugo Sam, Ivan Bukenya, Kakuba Alex, Ochaya Joseph, Wasswa Hassan, Musa Mudde, Kizito Geoffrey, Mpande Joseph and Kyeyune Said.
The delegation also has Moses Oloya, Kisekka Henry, Kiiza Hamis, Kizito Luwagga, Serunkuuma Dan, Wadada Nicholas, Wasswa Herman and Kasagga Jjuuko Richard. Denis Onyango, Ochaya Joseph, Kizito Baba, Oloya Moses and Kisekka Henry will link up with the team in Tripoli.
The team leaves Entebbe International Airport aboard Turkish Air at 3:45 am on Thursday morning via Istanbul City. The only new inclusion on the travelling list is Kira Young’s Kasagga Jjuuko and SC Victoria’s Kimera Ali.
This is Micho’s first assignment since he assumed office as a Cranes tactician this month.
FUFA President Lawrence Mulindwa (left) and FUFA Head of Communications Rogers Mulindwa are both members of different CAF working committees.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has named two more Ugandans on different working committees.
FUFA Head of Communications Rogers Mulindwa is now a member of the CAF Media committee while FUFA Legal Committee Secretary Counsel Alex Luganda goes to the Appeals committee.
The two join three others to bring it to five the number of Ugandans serving in different committees at the continental level. FUFA President Lawrence Mulindwa was maintained on the CAF organizing committee for Inter club competitions.
Others are Dr. James Ssekajugo (Medical) and Charles Masembe who sits on the Referees committee.
Details of these committees are already uploaded on the official CAF website.
Moses Oloya (in action) to join the rest of the Cranes team in Tripoli.
Uganda Cranes undergoes its fifth training session this Tuesday at Mandela National stadium-Namboole.
The team will have a double training session in the morning and afternoon before they leave for Tripoli, Libya in the morning of Wednesday 29th aboard Egyptian Airlines.
The friendly between Cranes and hosts Libya will be played on 1st June 2013 at the 88,000 capacity seater Eleventh June stadium in Tripoli.
Arrival schedules for the foreign based players will be as follows:
Kenyan pair of Emuge Israel and Dan Mzee Serunkuma arrived in the country yesterday.
Zimbabwe based Bobani Zirintusa is still expected to arrive any time.
Key striker Geoffrey Massa is rested for this friendly while Brian Umony is ruled out due to an injury.
Emmanuel Okwi, Isaac Isinde and Robert Odongkara are doubtful due to their Confederations Cup engagements with their clubs.
Luwaga Kizito (Portugal), Joseph Ochaya (Ghana) and Denis Onyango will connect direct to Tripoli to join the rest of the team on Wednesday while Vietnam pair of Oloya Moses and Baba Kizito are expected in Libya today (Tuesday) night.
Coach Micho will be picking his final the 20-man squad later after today’s training. Other foreign based players not for the Tripoli friendly are expected in the country between 2nd and 3rd June.
