Monday, 18 April, 2005
By Emmanuel Muga
Total FC of Djibouti have withdrawn from the Central and Eastern African Club Championship which begins at the weekend in Mwanza, Tanzania.
They are the third team to withdraw from the tournament, which begins on 23 April and ends on 7 May.
Adulis of Eritrea and Al Hilal of Sudan were first to withdraw citing committing in their local leagues.
The remaining ten teams have been drawn in two groups.
The sides in Group A teams are Simba (Tanzania), SC Villa (Uganda), Elman (Somalia), Atletico Olympique (Burundi) and Rayon Sport (Rwanda).
Group B comprises of the defending champions APR (Rwanda), Mtibwa (Tanzania), Awasa (Ethiopia), KMKM (Zanzibar) and Ulinzi (Kenya).
According to the revised fixtures released on Monday, Elman will face Atletico in the first game of the tournament, while Simba play SC Villa in another match.
The tournament is sponsored by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who put up US$60,000 for the top three teams.
Tanzania Football Federation officials say the Cecafa championship will receive additional sponsorship of US$100,000 from three firms, which will be used to defray organisational costs.