Favourites Kenya open Cecafa Women campaign
What you need to know:
- Zanzibar will take on Burundi in the opening match of the tournament, kick-off 2pm.
- Entry to the stadium for all games will be free of charge.
IN JINJA, UGANDA
The first edition of the Cecafa Women Championship kicks off on Sunday in Uganda’s eastern town of Jinja with the hosts taking on Kenya in the second game at the Fufa Technical Centre, Njeru.
Zanzibar will take on Burundi in the opening match of the tournament, kick-off 2pm.
But the locals will, without a doubt, brace themselves for the second tie, one both managers have tried to down play their sides’ chances.
“I want to believe Uganda is a much improved side from the one we played against in a friendly sometime back,” Kenya coach David Ouma said on Saturday. “So many people have branded us the favourites, but like I said before we left home, our target is to get out of the group, and we are taking it one game at time.”
“So many things happen at championships like this, it depends on how well prepared you are but also remember you don’t have ample time to study the opponent. Small errors can cost us, but we hope to address all the nitty gritty before every game.”
Ouma’s counterpart Majidah Nantanda insisted that it was Kenya who had a lot to prove and the Crested Crane would be under no pressure to prove anything.
“The friendly against Kenya was organised in a rush on our side. We trained for two days and travelled, but we learnt a lot especially in terms of our psychological preparation for games,” Natanda said in reference to the 4-0 humiliation in Kisumu.
“We come into this tie as underdogs and certainly under no pressure to please, but I have told the players that we are hosts and we must compete."
“A semi-final finish would be the bare minimum.”
There is no doubt, one of the reasons Kenya are strong favourites in Jinja is the fact that they qualified for the Africa Women Cup of Nations due in November in Cameroon, and Ouma knows it.
“This is one way of preparing for the Afcon because we really want to go to Cameroon to compete and the games we shall play here will in a way prepare us,” said the man who also doubles as head coach at SportsPesa Premier League side Sofapaka.
Entry to the stadium for all games will be free of charge.
