The 36th edition of the CECAFA Tusker Challenge Cup came to a conclusion last Saturday with Uganda continuing its dominance in the region after beating Kenya 2-1 to win its 13th championship.
A lot transpired at the two weeks tournament both on and off the pitch. Some were good; others bad while some were even ugly as ISMAEL KIYONGA who closely followed the tournament writes.
THE GOOD
– It was nice seeing Uganda Cranes winning another crown after edging main rivals Kenya’s Harambe Stars in the finals. The boys didn’t only win the championship but made it with 100% record. No loss or draw and conceded just one goal.
– The football on the pitch was terrific with almost all teams playing some good football. Some matches like Burundi Vs Tanzania and Uganda Vs Kenya in the finals stood out though.
– The emergence of Geoffrey ‘Baba’ Kizito was something good to cheer about. Ever since he made his debut against Zambia, he has proved a growing influence on the team.
– Great or call them special talents were on show. Uganda’s Moses Oloya, Kenya’s Humphrey Mieno, Rwanda’s Haruna Niyonzima, Burundi’s Selemani Ndikumana and Zanzibar’s Sulleyman Khassim Sullyman are rare breeds in the region. It was a joy watching these players for the two weeks.
THE BAD
– It was a bad image as games were played in front of empty stands. Even when games were declared free, the fans still failed to turn up even when the home side was playing. At one moment, it prompted the Cecafa General Secretary to inquire where Ugandans go if they didn’t go to church but still fail to watch games.
– The MVP award going to Brian Umony; a player whose contribution to his side was only in the group stages was really bad. It didn’t only leave many questions unanswered but also made the competitions technical committee appear inept.
– Teams that have shared the same group playing against each other in the next round was also something that portrayed Cecafa as incompetent. This would have been projected before and something done about it.
– Poor officiation was another thing that left a sour taste in many people who watched the games. The match officials got many calls wrong in almost all matches. It’s difficult determining who the best referee in the tournament was as most didn’t do well. Luckily, no calls decided games.
THE UGLY:
– When it rained, Namboole stadium pitch didn’t only paint a bad picture of Uganda’s state of pitches but also Cecafa in general. From the start, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) led by Moses Magogo should have known that Namboole couldn’t accommodate two games a day for two weeks and allocated other pitches.
– It was an ugly scene whenever lights at Namboole went off in the midst of the game. It’s totally amazing that it didn’t happen once but on a number of occasions.
