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Burundi: Soccer - Country Hosts Cecafa U-17 Event
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The Nation (Nairobi)
27 July 2007
Posted to the web 26 July 2007
Nairobi
Only seven countries including Kenya will be taking part in the inaugural Council of East and Central Africa Football Association under-17 youth championship which will be staged in Bujumbura, Burundi from August 18-27.
The event will also be the first in the history of Confederation of African Football (CAF) to host an international competition on artificial turf. Burundi's national stadium which has been under renovation will host its first match during the competition which promises to have the best talent in the region.
Cecafa secretary general Nicholas Musonye said four countries Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Sudan have given the event a wide berth. The seven countries to grace the tournament which is sponsored by Tanzania's president Jakaya Kikwete are Kenya, Uganda and Zanzibar in Pool A while Pool B has host Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Somalia.
Kenya is expected to start its title campaign against Zanzibar on August 19 while the host will be the first to kick the ball a day earlier against Tanzania. Only the top two teams in each group will qualify for the semifinals.
CAF will also fund the event to the tune of Sh1 million and Musonye underlined the need for the affiliate countries take the competition serious if they are to have an impact on the 2010 world cup in South Africa. He said that the Cecafa region has failed to carve its own space in the continental and international soccer arena because it has been overrelying on aged players.
"We have to change our focus and the way we handle our youth development program. The region must strive to level the standard of football to rivals in west and southern Africa," he said.
Musonye said plans were complete to host the first regional women's championship in Zanzibar from October 20-28. CAF will also be involved in the organisation of the tournament after it pledged to fund it to a tune of Sh1.2 million.
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"It is a new beginning for women football in the region. The tournament will aid women from our affiliate federations to improve on their skills to match their West Africa counterparts," he said.
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