Kagame Cup went on well despite the odds

By RODGERS MULINDWA

The Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (Cecafa) defied negative campaign and successfully staged the 39th Kagame Cup Club championship in Darfur, Sudan.

North Darfur and South Kordofan described variously as dangerous areas were chosen by Cecafa to host the oldest club championship in Africa that saw teams pull out citing security concerns, while others bowed to political pressure.

But the Cecafa leadership, led by General Secretary Nicholas Musonye, and President Leodegar Tenga, stood their ground against all the negative campaign to stage one of the most exciting and successful competitions in the zone.

Vital’O of Burundi won the title after beating APR from neighbouring Rwanda.

Two days before the start of the competition on June 18, there were reports that Kadugli, the South Kordofan City, which hosted the colourful opening ceremony was under rebel siege.

But Cecafa hired a special flight from Khartoum and landed there with three teams on board.

After the colourful opening ceremony, the remaining eight teams were flown to El Fasher in North Darfur which hosted most of the matches that eventually concluded on a high scale on Monday night.

“I cannot claim to be a leader if I cannot take responsibilities and risks. I still maintain that I took the decision to play Cecafa in North Darfur and South Kordofan in good faith. People have said many things regarding this decision, but I did it for the good of Cecafa and the people of Sudan,” Musonye told Cecafa News after an exciting cup final and closing ceremony in El Fasher on Monday night.

The flawless event was a huge challenge to the Cecafa Secretary General because North Darfur and South Kordofan are hot spots in Sudan and had things gone wrong, the damage to Cecafa would have been monumental.

“I am also aware that sports, especially football, unites people even in time of war. This was my main reason to take the event to Sudan, which has been having tension with its southern neighbour,” said Musonye.

Two teams from Tanzania - defending champions Yanga and Simba - were forced out by their Government who claimed that there was no security in North Darfur.

This also saw Zanzibar team prevailed upon to skip the event despite having already arrived in Nairobi enroute to Khartoum. Then Tusker of Kenya said that they had been advised that they needed “bullet proof jackets” to walk around in Darfur, all claims Musonye dismissed as malicious propaganda.

On Monday, El Fasher, the ancient city in North Darfur, saw the dramatic end to a tournament that united most of Sudan.

It brought together eight Governors, several cabinet ministers from Khartoum, while President Paul Kagame, the Cecafa patron, was represented by Minister of Sports and Youth, Protais Mitali.

“I am glad this event has ended without any shelling as some prophets of doom had wanted,” the Secretary General told the press on Monday night.

Vitalo of Burundi made history on the colourful night when n they beat favourites APR of Rwanda 2-0 to claim their first ever Cecafa title.

— The writer is a Media Liaison for Council for East and Central African Football Associations (CECAFA)