by Gilbert Wandera

Three-time winners of the Confederation of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) Senior Challenge Cup, Sudan, are one of the favourites to lift this year’s trophy in Kenya.

Despite a poor show last year when they were bundled out in the first round, the Desert Hawks are expected to offer tough opposition.

Barren draws with Kenya and Zambia last year saw Sudan kick off their campaign on a low note. However, a 1-1 draw with whipping boys, Djibouti, is what killed their aspiration as they failed to get enough points to advance to the second round.

Last year’s performance was one of the worst for Sudan as they scored only one goal.

But then again it was evident Sudan did not bring their first team to the regional event, only drafting a handful of players who were in the 2007 winning outfit. They again fielded the same time at last year’s African Nations Cup finals in Ghana.

With a stronger squad, they are expected to give a good account of themselves this time round. Sudan were winners in 1980, 2006 and 2007 and in between finished runners-up twice.

Ironically, when Sudan won the tournament in 2007 in Tanzania, they did not register even a single victory in the group stages. They were held by Ethiopia and Zanzibar, perhaps an indicator of their poor start to the competition.

However, they managed only two points from the preliminary round, but the victory saw them through to the knockout stages. They edged out Tanzania 2-1 in the quarter-finals to prove they had no respect for the hosts who were playing in a packed stadium with a partisan crowd.

Another 2-1 win over Burundi saw Sudan make it to the final where they edged out Rwanda 4-2 on post-match penalties to lift the trophy for the second year running.

Off the pitch, Sudan are rated as one of the strongest teams in the region. They were the only Cecafa member in the African Nations Cup in Ghana last year where they were eliminated in first round.

They were also among three countries from the region, alongside Kenya and Rwanda, who made it to the second and final round of the World Cup and the continental cup qualifiers.

Sudan have strong clubs like El Merreikh and Al-Hilal that do well in continental championships. Good government investment has also boosted clubs’ performance.

The Sudanese government this year sponsored all teams that took part in the regional club championships in April and youth championships three months later.