Mogadishu (Somalia) - The captain of Somalia’s national soccer squad, Abdulkadeer Sheik Osman, affectionately known as "Bakiyaa" has told APA that his side was bent on bringing home the 10-nation regional cup that will be contested in Uganda later this month.
The team is rounding up preparations in Djibouti for the regional CECAFA senior Challenge cup which kicks off in Uganda on 31 December 2008.
In its first match, Somalia will lock horns with Zanzibar on 1 January 2009.
The tournament will take place in Kampala from 31 December 2008 to 13 January 2009.
Somalia will play in group A with Zanzibar, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, while Kenya, Burundi, Sudan, Zambia and Djibouti are in group B.
The team has been camping in Djibouti over the last three months in the absence of a suitable site in Mogadishu.
Somalia’s largest football stadium is presently occupied by Ethiopian forces which are helping the Somalia transitional federal government.
Another pitch, the Banadir Stadium, is being reconstructed under the “Win in Africa with Africa Project� funded by the world football governing body FIFA.