Cecafa secretary Musonye slams new tourney

Cecafa Secretary-General Nicholas Musonye addressing the media at his office at the Nyayo Stadium in the past. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The gaming firm on Wednesday launched the SportPesa Super Cup, which will be held annually.
  • The Senior Challenge Cup (Ethiopia) and Kagame Cup (Tanzania) were last held in 2015.

Cecafa Secretary General Nicholas Musonye has slammed the move by online betting firm SportPesa to start a regional tournament.

The gaming firm on Wednesday launched the SportPesa Super Cup, which will be held annually.

Interestingly, the Sh6 million prize money for the tournament is what the Cecafa Club Championships have been using in their previous editions to reward winning sides.

Musonye said that Cecafa had sought sponsorship from SportPesa for the Club Championships but were turned away.

The Senior Challenge Cup (Ethiopia) and Kagame Cup (Tanzania) were last held in 2015.

“We asked SportPesa to sponsor the two tournaments but they rejected. I am surprised that they are now sponsoring same factions that have been sabotaging Cecafa. They said they have no money but they are now running such a tournament,” a charged Musonye said.

“We only wanted money to help with accommodation but they turned down the request.”

When asked about the future of Cecafa during the launch of the tournament, FKF CEO Robert Muthomi said a council congress will discuss ways of streamline the body’s activities.

“National presidents met sometime back in Uganda and also in Bahrain during the Fifa Congress and planned to have a meeting in the coming months to revamp the organisation. There’s a lot of work to be done around Cecafa with a lot of concerns raised but there’s going to be changes to rejuvenate the body,” Muthomi said.

Eyebrows have also been raised regarding the timing of the event that falls on the Fifa calendar with Gor Mahia the most affected as they have nine regular players who will be on national duty.

Both Tusker and AFC Leopards have only two players each in the national team while the Tanzanian sides have just completed the 2016/17 season with most of their key players called up to the Taifa Stars squad.

“Gor Mahia have nine players on national duty but with a squad of 29, we will be able to raise at least 18 to take part in this tournament. I think it’s only Nakuru All Stars who have a full squad but watch out for Gor Mahia in Tanzania,” warned Ambrose Rachier, the club chairman.

Kagame Cup prize money:

Winner: Sh3 million

Runners up: Sh2 million

2nd runners up: Sh1 million

SportPesa Super Cup:

Winners: Sh3 million

Runners up: Shs1 million

Losing semi-finalists: Sh500,000 each

Quarterfinalists: Sh250,000 each