Fred Kaweesi
5 September 2008
Niamey — Niger's traumatised players still bear scars from their previous run-ins with the Uganda Cranes, with David Obua the ever-lasting terrifying force the hosts intend to look out for.
"Is he (Obua) coming?" Niger lead forward Amidou Djibou asked, with memories of the Hearts midfielder's well-taken hat-trick against Niger last year still evident.
Niger will come into the fixture against Cranes tomorrow dripping with fear - aware that if Obua and the rest of the team get into the mood, another torrid time is in line.
While Cranes boss Bobby Williamson has a gifted pool that he will be spoilt for choice, his counterpart possesses no such luxuries.
Niger will line-up in an unchanged 4-3-3 formation, with Souleyman Sakou, Djibou and Camilou Daouda in attack.
While Uganda's enduring love affair with the Nations Cup and World Cup has been a roller-coaster of pure agony down the years, the Cranes could literally seal top place in Group Three with a win over Niger and defeat for Benin away to Angola.
The Mena of Niger have not won a game in the group following defeats to Uganda, Benin and Angola. however many believe a decent result will lift a population struggling to overcome poverty.
Just as recently as 2006, the UNDP revealed that 90% of the Niger citizens lived below the poverty line.
In the run-up to the game, the Niger football federation has been forced to turn to its poverty-stricken citizens for financial salvation to sustain the team's preparations.
Match tickets are less than half a dollar yet just a sizeable number will afford to purchase one.
"There is no money," one lamented.
Uganda is not an economic powerhouse, but should be glad to encounter a team as impoverished as Niger's Mena.
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