When it was first muted, few people believed it would be possible. But Cecafa Kagame Club Cup competition, one of the premier tournaments of the regional football governing body, Cecafa, eventually will take place in war-scarred Sudan.

And not in the capital Khartoum. But in South Gordofan and North Darfur. When Cecafa chiefs announced in April that the 2013 Kagame Cup would take place in South Gordofan and North Darfur, many thought it was an April Fool’s Day prank.

The media and the football critics dismissed the idea as a wild dream. In this region, South Gordofan and Darfur are more associated with war, hunger and persistent strife.

Cecafa Secretary General Nicholas Musonye, explains: “I had visited Khartoum, Medani, Port Sudan and other parts of Sudan many times since 1985, but not Darfur and South Gordofan.

“I had known the two States and others in the larger Sudan through the media and formed an opinion, which was not very pleasant”.

“But on April 27, 2013, I had to sit and think twice alone after landing in Al Fasher in North Darfur. Two days later, I decided I should tell the world that before you dismiss an idea,  you had better see for yourself”.

“I had also visited Kadugli in South Gordofan. It was always not going to be easy to convince our members and the world that Cecafa Kagame  Club Cup will be staged in Al Fasher and Kadugli because the world knew over the years that there was nothing to offer the football world in those two States,” he recalled.

But the Sudan FA and the Governors of the two States – Osman Mohammed Yousuf Kebir of North Darfur and Ahmed Mohammed Haruna of South Gordofan  - had decided and their resolve to bring Kagame Cup to their States was unstoppable.

Adds Musonye: “By the time I was visiting the two States, the name “Kagame” was familiar in the minds and hearts of many people – young and old. Cosmopolitan Al Fasher is the home of the second largest UN operation activities in the World and the people are very enlightend. The Rwandese presence in the blue helmeted peace keepers is prominent here, so it wasn’t going to be difficult for me to be at home.”

The journey to Al Fasher took  almost one hour twenty minutes from Khartoum in an Airbus – all seats occupied. “I was shocked to find a magnificent busy Airport in Al Fasher, streets full of beaming people and healthy young men and women communicating in refined English. (Al Fasher University is one of the oldest in Sudan.)

“They all knew that Cecafa Kagame Cup would be taking place in their city. It is difficult to describe the reception from the Airport to Governors Palace.

“Like many people, I had thought there was no Stadia in Al Fasher, something that had worried me throighout the whole trip. Again my mind was settled – two good stadia stand in the middle of Al Fasher ready for the event. Accommodation and the rest was going to be routine. If the rooms in the hotels and Villas were not enough, Governor Kebir’s Palace in the heart of Al Fasher can accommodate 100 people.

“It was time to return to Khartoum after two days sojourn in Darfur and my mind was still wallowing in the wilderness because I had been told Kadugli has no infrastcurure.

“After one day in Khartoum, we took  a one hour ten minutes flight to Kadugli. This time in a Government-owned jet. Kadugli is the capital of South Gordofan – a State that boarders Northern Gordofan and South Sudan. It is about 700km from the boarder with South Sudan.

“We landed safely at the hilly Kadugli Airport and again all the stories I had been told were disabused. The airport is active and people are going about their duties normally and peacefully. It has a well-maintained airport with a runway bigger than some big airports in many countries. The  waiting delegation is huge  and excited to receive Cecafa guests. The singing old women  display the true African culture of hospitality. Again, I start feeling at home as was the case with Darfur.

The first stop was a shocker – a magnificent 25,000-seater stadium just five minutes drive from the Airport on the main highway.

“This is where the opening ceremony will take place”, said the chairman of the LOC Hafiz Mohammed.

“I cannot risk taking this tournament to a risky place. I have confirmed that Darfur and Gordofan are safe. Basic infrastructure is in place and the event will be a success,” he summed up.

- Cecafamedia.org