Cecafa teams remain hopeful of AFCON finals

Harambee Stars' Anthony Akumu (left) and Hassan Waswa of Uganda Cranes during a friendly match at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos on Thursday, March 23, 2017. [PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

For many years, teams from East Africa have missed out on the Africa Cup of Nations finals, leaving West Africa to dominate.

However, this is likely to change with an expanded tournament in Cameroon next year.

The tournament will for the first time feature 24 teams with group winners and runners-up qualifying automatically.

The new format seems to favour the East Africa teams with two rounds of matches to go.

At least five countries from the region are in contention to qualify in what will be the biggest representation ever since the tournament started.

Kenya, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia could all make it to Yaoundé for the month-long extravaganza.  

Their performance has been warmly welcomed by the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) Secretary General Nicholas Musonye.

“So far, I’m satisfied and happy with the performance of Cecafa teams, more especially so Kenya and Uganda. Burundi, Tanzania and Ethiopia are also performing well,” Musonye told Standard Sports.

“As Cecafa, our determination is to have at least three teams in the expanded AFCON competition. So far, Kenya and Uganda have very realistic chances unless something spectacular happens.”

But the outspoken official was quick to challenge the governments to invest into the game and support their teams.

“I’ve said before, and I repeat, that governments in the region should support sports because sports is a great unifying factor. When the government of Kenya showed commitment last week, you saw the positive response from fans, and the players did not disappoint.

“It is our prayer as Cecafa that our governments in the region invest in sports, not only football but all sport disciplines in general,” he said.

Uganda Cranes who lead group ‘L’ on 10 points need just a draw in their remaining two matches to confirm their qualification for the second time in a row.

Kenya’s Harambee Stars who last played in the Tunis, Tunisia, finals in 2004 are waiting for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decision on suspended Sierra Leone, to sail through.

Victories over Ghana (1-0) and Ethiopia (3-0) has put Sebastian Migne’s men at the top of group ‘F’ on seven points from four matches.

Should the West African nation, banned by world football governing body FIFA due to government interference, be allowed back, then Kenya will need to beat them to be assured of qualification.

But should Sierra Leone be disqualified completely, Kenya will be assured of a place in the finals with a game to spare.

Ethiopia, second in group ‘F’ with three points, can also qualify if they win their two remaining matches against banned Sierra Leone and Ghana’s Black Stars.

However, their chances will go up in smoke should Sierra Leone be disqualified as they will remain with just one point.

The two East Africa teams in group ‘L’ Uganda and Tanzania have a chance as well. Uganda lead the group on 10 points followed by Tanzania who have five points.

Taifa Stars need to win their two remaining matches to finish runners-up in the group and be on the way to Cameroon next year. Tanzania beat Cape Verde 2-0 on Wednesday to move closer to qualification.

In group ‘C’, Burundi also have a chance to be among the top two. The Swallows lies third on the log with six points, two behind leaders Mali. Guinea are second with seven points.

The next round of qualification matches will be played in November with the final round in March next year.

Madagascar, Senegal, Tunisia and Egypt have already qualified for the tournament with two matches to go.