Cecafa teams relishing rare opportunity

The two annual Cecafa tournaments—the Senior Challenge Cup and Kagame Cup—are no longer the model preparatory regional events for participating teams. Besides the waning levels of competitiveness, the tournaments no longer happen consistently.
Just this week, champions Kenya withdrew from hosting the senior challenge cup, hence its postponement till July next year. Likewise, Tanzanian giants Azam will not defend their club championship until next June.
But despite those inconsistencies, Cecafa teams are relishing a rare opportunity to play in the same Afcon, since Kenya and Rwanda did it in Tunisia 2004. Well, you could say it is due to the generosity of the new qualifying format and the tournament’s expansion to 24 countries, from the 16, admitting two from each group.
But Uganda, 14-time Cecafa winners, and seven-time Cecafa champions Kenya have helped themselves by leading their respective groups.

Seamless Cranes
No more mathematics—oh how pupils and students hate the subject—Uganda’s qualification is as simple as getting one point from the remaining two matches. So failure to reach Cameroon 2019 requires a huge capitulation, yet at this stage in previous qualifying campaigns, Uganda required huge miracles to advance. The Cranes often found themselves on the marginal end of the stats and, like many Ugandan pupils and students fail mathematics, so did the team.
But despite kicking off with a disappointing 0-0 draw, Coach Sebastien Desabre’s reign is suddenly promising a second consecutive appearance at the Afcon, thanks to two consecutive wins over Lesotho. Since that opening 1-0 win in Cape Verde in June 2017, under Micho Sredojevic, Uganda has kept atop Group L, mustering 10 points from four matches, conceding no goal.
If Uganda can get that fate-sealing point against Cape Verde or simply beat the Islanders at Namboole today, they can afford the generosity to lose to Tanzania in the last fixture, which gives their East African neighbours a chance to return to Africa’s elite tournament, since 1980. But first, the Taifa Stars, second on five points, can simplify their equation by beating Lesotho away on Sunday.

Uncertainty
Kenya is leading Group F with seven points from four matches. Ethiopia, the other Cecafa team, is second on four. But no one is sure how Caf is going to sort this group since Fifa suspended Sierra Leone, after the country’s anti-corruption commission (ACC) suspended the FA president Isha Johansen and secretary general Christopher Kamara, replacing them with their respective deputies Brima Mazola Kamara and Abdul Rahman Swarray. Though Johansen and Kamara deny any wrongdoing, the ACC insists they must step aside as investigations into their corruption scandal go on.
By the time of the ban the West African nation and Ghana had gathered three points apiece from their two fixtures. Now Caf, having called off Sierra Leone’s back-to-back matches with Ghana last month, has also cancelled their fixture with Kenya.
And the BBC reports that in a letter to the concerned associations, the continental regulator will communicate the status of the group later on but “ruled out the re-scheduling of games, even if the suspension is lifted.”
Interesting, Kenya and Ethiopia have been in a similar status before: Fifa banned Kenya s in 2004, while Ethiopia faced it between 2008 and 2009, before they returned to qualify for Afcon 2013 in South Africa.
Ethiopia’s only win in the group was the 1-0 against Sierra Leone. It is kind of a tall order, but if the 1962 continental champions beat the struggling Black Stars in Addis Ababa tomorrow, they will have enhanced their chances.
But whichever way Caf decides will likely not stop Kenya’s Harambee Stars from returning to Afcon after a 14-year wait.
In Group C, Burundi is third with six points, two behind leaders Mali and one behind Gabon, after a win and three draws. If they can get enough points from their remaining two fixtures, they can live the Afcon dream.

No chance
With just one point, Rwanda are sitting at the bottom of Group H. The Amavubi Stars have only scored three goals, conceded seven. No chance to return to Afcon since their maiden appearance in 2004.
And in the same group with Burundi, new entrants South Sudan have no point, no goal and have conceded 10.
In Group A, Sudan, like their breakaway neighbours, have no points, no goals and sitting beneath joint leaders Senegal and Madagascar (both on 10 points) and Equatorial Guinea on three. No chance for the 1970 continental champions.