Musonye impressed by young talent at U-20 Cecafa Challenge Cup

CECAFA General Secretary Nicolas Mugoye

Kampala. The secretary general of the Council for East and Central Football Africa Football Associations (Cecafa), Nicholas Musonye, has hailed the talent exhibited by youngsters at the just concluded U20 Cecafa Challenge Cup in Uganda.Tanzania won the tournament beating Kenya by 1-0 on Saturday in the final of the two-week tournament which attracted 11 other national teams and was staged in the towns of Jinja and Gulu.

“I am excited about future generations of football in our region. The talents on show here were so promising,” Musonye said.

“Our brothers from North and West Africa have been performing better than us because they nurture and showcase talents from a tender age. This year alone, we have organised U-15 and U-20 tournaments. Last year, we staged two U-17 tournaments and something for the ladies,” Musonye further said.

Tanzania’s Kelvin John who emerged top scorer was also voted the tournament’s most Valuable player. Kenya’s Brian Bwire was voted the best goalkeeper at the tournament.

Eritrean players

 

At the same time, Musonye has shared his concerns following the disappearance of five Eritrean players from the team camp in Jinja.

Regardless he expressed satisfaction that the competition went on smoothly despite being held in what was previously the war-torn town in Northern Uganda.

“Gulu is now safe. We have brought football here and everything has gone on smoothly. We also did the same in Kordofan, in Sudan. My final dream is to take a Cecafa tournament to Somalia,” Musonye said.

The next regional tournament will be the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup in Kampala come December.