NAIROBI: Sudan’s war-torn regions of Darfur and South Kordofan will host next month’s Cecafa Club Cup football championships, with at least 13 teams due to travel to the rebel-hit regions, officials said yesterday.
“We are looking forward to staging the tournament there between June 18 and July 2,” said Cecafa secretary Nicholas Musonye, who led a fact-finding team to the region last week to inspect the facilities.
“The two states are very determined they will organise a very successful event,” he told reporters, speaking in Nairobi, the Cecafa’s headquarters. Officials from Cecafa -- the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations, a regional football tournament for league champion teams -- has identified two venues in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.
In addition, a 20,000-capacity stadium is nearing completion in Kadugli, the state capital of South Kordofan. Musonye said he was confident the venues would be ready and suitable.
“We will make a second inspection visit on May 17 for a final assessment,” he added, noting the decision to take the tournament there followed a move by the Sudan Football Federation to spread the game in the restive states. So far 13 teams, including defending champions Yanga of Tanzania, have confirmed they will take part.
This year will mark the tenth year since violence broke out in Sudan’s western Darfur when non-Arab rebel groups took up arms against the central government in Khartoum.
Various conflicts persist in Darfur: rebel-government clashes, inter-Arab and tribal fighting as well as carjackings. AFP
