By Suleiman Jongo, The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. Somalia, Rwanda and Burundi’s national football teams may scrape the barrel of global rankings due to  civil wars, but still they seem to have a bright future by participating in the ongoing Cecafa Tusker Senior Challenge Cup.

For fans who are attending the grueling event taking place at the 60-000-seater National Stadium in Dar es Salaam, the participation of three war-torn countries symbolises more than the game of football, but passion for the football development and a glimmer of hope for the future.

Somalia, ranked 193 out of 202 in FIFa world standings, Rwanda and Burundi have been regular participants in the oldest football tournament in East and Central Africa, taking place in the country in two years consecutively under a hefty sponsorship of Serengeti Breweries Limited (SBL) through Tusker beer banner.

Despite their unrest situation in their native countries and unfriendlier environment for the growth of football, they have  a passion at heart and will soon become forces to reckon with.  “Football is a friendly game that unites people, like here in Dar es Salaam, if the fighters back home had a chance to gather and plat it, they could not think of war”, said Ahmed Jamal, one of Somalia’s fans.

Jamal was at the stadium when his team was beaten 3-0 by Zanzibar for them to pack their bags back home.
Somalia has surprised many football pundits by entering a team and making an early impression in the World Cup qualifying completion.

International media recently reported that Somalia last week held it’s first competitive football tournament after 23 years.

Football is not played regularly in Somalia because the country’s football stadiums were devastated by years of fighting, leaving the team with no professional grounds for practice or hosting games.

“We are regarded as underdogs, but the reason is that we don’t practice a lot at home because of war, but we are slightly gaining confidence and exposure for us to be among powerful football nations in the long run.

However, Somalia’s continued participation in the Cecafa Tusker Challenge Cup has been received with mixed feeling as others think that they are not serious contenders, but just mere participants.

“I think Cecafa officials should put qualifications elements for countries before taking part, other like Somalia seem to have just been part of the fixture to increase the number of participating teams, but not serious contenders”, says Frank John, a local football fan.

However, Emmanuel John has different point of views.
“They are giving a stiff opposition and I’m afraid that teams like Burundi and Rwanda will in the near future be a threat for Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.

“Look at the way they play, had it not been wars, they could be somewhere else, we , here in Tanzania have conducive environment for football developments with huge investments but yet we are at a very slow pace”, says John.

When Burundi (ranked at 145th position in FIFA rankinga) played Uganda, the most developed country in East Africa at 91st position, they played a fantastic football and handful of fans who showed were treated to a good football.
Burundi, which shocked Uganda by 1-0 defeat  dominated their game despite the Cranes being more than 50 places above them in the Fifa rankings.

Rwanda are expected to become the strongest team in the region, likewise Ethiopia, which is also taking part in the two-week event.

Ephraim Mafuru, who is the Serengeti Breweries Limited (SBL) , marketing manager says SBL, as sponsors believe that all the teams taking part in the event have the chances to improve and become powerful through their sponsorship boost.

“The reason for us to inject millions of money every year is to boost the standard of football and for the countries to be able to take part in major events like the World Cup”, says Mafuru.

“This time, we would like to see teams from going through to the 2014 World Cup finals in Rio de Janeiro”, said Mafuru.

This year’s tournament received financial boost from a local beer company, which dished out some $500,000 (more than Sh900million) to help fund the tournament.

The money are used to pay for return tickets for all participating teams, as well as accommodation, local transport, other administrative requirements and prize money.

“We feel happy to have been associated with the development of football in the region”, says Mafuru.
“We give back what we get from our Tusker customers in the region as far as the development of football is concerned”, says Mafuru.

With all the competing teams having missed out on the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, save for finalists Sudan, the regional governing soccer body, Cecafa in collaboration with the sponsors, SBL provides an opportunity to the regional national teams a chance to win silverware.

“Without a huge investment, football will not develop, even in Europe, people invest heavily, we think, SBL is doing the right thing for the football growth not only in Tanzania but the East, Central and Southern Africa region”, Mafuru says. Leodeger Tenga, who was recently re-elected Cecafa president, says that the Tusker sponsorship is too crucial since football needs money to develop.

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