NAIROBI, Kenya, November 21 – A psychiatrist had to be hired for newly crowned Kenyan Premier League (KPL) Player of the Year and KCB striker, Jacob Keli, to get firing again after he went six games without scoring.

Whatever the medic told him helped the former Harambee Stars Under-23 captain have a monster second season that saw him emerge the Golden Boot winner besides picking up the biggest accolade on the night during the 2013 Footballer of the Year gala on Wednesday.

“It has been a spectacular and fruitful season for me but behind this success, it has been hard work and determination and after I became strong mentally, I scored two goals against Bandari and it flowed smoothly since then.

“When Jesse Were was at 14 goals, I was at eight, you can believe the catching up I had to do and am very grateful to God for giving me this opportunity because it has not been luck, it’s all effort,” the striker who closed the campaign with 17 league goals told Capital Sport after he was crowned the best of them all.

“I have a fatherly love for my coach Abdalla Juma, he believed in me from the first day of January pre-season and told he wanted to build the team around me, that showed he had trust in me and I’m glad I did not fail him,” Keli who was accompanied by his wife and son Remmy, told amid tears of joy.

The Kenyan international revealed he wants a new challenge with playing in Europe his big dream.

“After winning the Golden Boot and the Best Player in the domestic league, there is nothing more I can win here because I have already achieved, I only have to be very careful and patient.”

Winning the KPL top award has been a poisoned chalice with previous holders disappearing under the radar but Keli believes he will buck the trend since they all faltered after agitating for a move away from the domestic top flight.

“It’s all about playing time and it’s not that the previous winners have disappeared, I usually chat with Kevin Kimani and George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo.

“They are playing where they are and earning money it’s just that we don’t get information of how they are doing,” he stated in reference to two of his predecessors who fell from grace after winning the award.

“I could not have won this big prize without the support of my colleagues, the likes of Clifford Alwanga, Michael Oyando and Brian Osumba who provided the assists, I love them as my brothers and am really grateful to them,” the 22 year old who dedicated the award to his son, who kisses every boot he scores with, expressed.

Keli beat Gor Mahia’s David Owino and Bandari’s Shaban Kenga who placed first and second runner-ups to take home the coveted prize.

The bankers who finished fourth this season scooped the highest number of trophies during this year’s event, after they shed their tag as pace setters to enjoy a solid season.

Apart from winning the top scorer and Best Player, the club bagged runner-up keeper of the year (Sammy Okinda), midfielder (Brian Osumba), coach (Abdallah Juma), team manager (Josephat Okal) and runner-up defender (John Odhiambo).

KPL champions Gor Mahia, who won most awards last season went home with three awards two of these by defender David ‘Calabar’ Owino who was named best defender and came third in the best player category while captain Jerim Onyango, grabbed the goalkeeper of the season.

Their bitter rivals AFC Leopards, walked home with only one award courtesy of Allan Wanga who settled for third top scorer with 11 goals, four behind Tusker FC’s Jesse Were.

Each category came with a cash prize of Sh100, 000 (USD 1160.77) for the winners, Sh75, 000 (USD 870.58) for the first runners up and Sh50, 000 (580.38) for third placed players.

Ugandan and K’Ogalo forward Dan Sserunkuma won last season’s Best Player of the year.

BEST PLAYER

1. Jacob Keli – KCB

2. Shaban Kenga – Bandari

3. David Owino – Gor Mahia

GOAL KEEPER OF YEAR

1. Jerim Onyango – Gor Mahia

2. Sammy Okinda – KCB

3. Wycliffe Kasaya (Sony)/Wilson Obungu (Bandari)

DEFENDER OF THE YEAR

1. David Owino – Gor Mahia

2. John Odhiambo – KCB

3.  Felly Mulumba – Sofapaka

MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR

1. Brian Osumba – KCB

2. Francis Kahata – Thika United

3. Peter Opiyo – AFC Leopards

NEW YOUNG PLAYER

1. Sammy Meja – Thika United

2. Michael Olunga – Tusker

3. Stephen Wakanya – Chemelil

TOP SCORER

Jacob Keli-KCB

CHAIRMAN’S AWARD

Doris Petra – FKF

FAIR PLAY AWARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR

1. Dennis Onkangi – Western Stima

2. Shaban Kenga – Bandari

3. Oliver Ruto – Ulinzi Stars

FAIR PLAY TEAM OF THE YEAR

1. Western Stima

2. Sofapaka

3. Muhoroni

COACH OF THE YEAR

1. Abdalla Juma – KCB

2. Twahir Muhiddin – Bandari

3. David Ouma – Sofapaka

TEAM MANAGER OF YEAR

1.     Josphat Okal – KCB

2.     Dan Omondi – Karuturi Sports

3.     Alfred Achayo – Bandari

MOST IMPROVED CENTER REFEREE OF THE YEAR

1.     Davis Omweno

2.     Anthony Ongwayo

3.     Tabitha Wambui

MOST IMPROVED ASSISTANT  REFEREE OF THE YEAR

1.     Aden Marwa

2.     Peter Kiereini

3.     Dorcas Moraa

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 21 – Harambee Stars head coach, Adel Amrouche will be given a new long-term contract, Football Kenya Federation boss, Sam Nyamweya has confirmed.

The Belgian national has been in charge of the side since February and is preparing to lead the team at this year’s Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup that kicks-off on Wednesday in Nairobi.

Speaking during the unveiling of the title sponsors for the tournament, Nyamweya exuded confidence that Amrouche would lead the team to attain a respectable placing in the continental map.

“I have a lot of faith in the coach and as a federation we are giving him all the support he needs,” the FKF boss confirmed.

During the function, MultiChoice Kenya through its product GOtv injected Sh10.7 m (USD 125,000) towards the regional tournament that Kenya last hosted in 2009.

This is in addition to Sh5.1m (USD 600,000) worth of broadcast partnership, where its satellite television SuperSport will air all the 26 matches.

Speaking during the official launch of the competition, Cecafa Secretary General, Nicholas Musonye, said the money will be ploughed back to the hosts for preparations of the event.

“We are going to name this competition GOtv Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup 2013 and with less than five days towards the games, I want to urge Kenyans to attend the matches.

“FKF cannot run this tournament without supporters going to the stadium, that’s why we have spread it to Nairobi, Machakos, Mombasa and Kisumu,” Musonye added.

“The success of this event will depend on the performance of Harambee Stars, so it’s important we rally behind our national team and motivate them to win the title.

“We are going to commit Sh8.6m (USD 100,000) that will go back to the host country to support specific items we have identified,” he disclosed.

The Nairobi and Kisumu governors gave Sh10m (USD115,830) with their Machakos counterpart Dr. Alfred Mutua providing Sh5m (USD57,915).

According to Nyamweya, gate charges will be friendly as tickets for the terraces will sell at Sh200 (USD 2.32) while VIP will retail at Sh500 (USD5.79)

Other corporate that came on board include Coca-Cola and UAP Insurance who will cover all the players and officials during the tournament.

Kenya will kick-off her campaign against Ethiopia on November 27 at Nyayo National Stadium with all the quarterfinals set to be played in Mombasa while the semis will be staged in Kisumu.

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 22 – Homeboyz RFC duo of Leonard Mugaisi and Humprey Mulama are the debutants in the national team for the Port Elizabeth and Dubai 7s that was unveiled on Friday by new head coach Paul Treu.

The former South African tactician retained Andrew Amonde and Collins Injera as the captain and vice-captain of his first squad as expectations among local rugby enthusiasts soar in his bid to improve Kenya’s performance during the second leg of the Sevens World Series.

Speaking while naming the 12 man squad, Treu, said his target was to reach the Main Cup quarters.

“It was difficult to take over the team while the season had already started with the Gold Coast, when we came here our first target was to improve the conditioning and fitness level of the players.

“Nonetheless in the past two weeks we have done credible work, guys are really working hard to make sure they are up to speed and from the things we have introduced into the team from technical and conditioning perspective, what is just left is to implement them.

“We will take one game at a time and the team is not yet ready, a lot of training will be done in Dubai next week,” Treu stated.

“There are a lot of challenges for players, but we want to settle and keep the guys calm as we aim to have the first game under our belt.

“We have more experienced players in the team, the likes of captain Andrew Amonde, Collins Injera and Biko Adema among others, they will have to keep this team together because we have alot of faith in the youngsters and that’s why we have given them opportunity to showcase their talent,” he continued.

Treu who has been with the team for two weeks tipped he will change the format of play to seek winning ways.

“We have been playing in a certain formant for a long time and it has given us nothing, so for me I will get the mixture of right players and face other teams head on,” the tactician who aims to qualify for the 2016 Olympics concluded.

Amonde lauded his coach for giving him the arm-band once again, saying the boys have faith in him.

“I know we will perform very well under the hands of Treu, since he is a professional coach who has won many titles in the game of rugby.

“We as players are ready for the tournament and will approach the match with a lot of seriousness to better our last performance,” the captain said.

Speaking at the same function, Kenya Rugby Union chairman Mwangi Muthee, said the International Rugby Board (IRB) is considering to include Safaricom Sevens to their calendar.

“We displayed a video to IRB and I want to assure this is the closest Kenya has been, a decision will be made next year during the Safaricom 7s.

“IRB has shown interest in Port Elizabeth and Nairobi combining to form one leg of the World Series,” the chairman who arrived on Thursday from IRB congress meeting assured.

The team leaves on Sunday and will conduct training sessions on Monday and Tuesday in Dubai before resting for two days, waiting for the game that will run on the weekend of November 29 and 30.

The boys, who are pooled in Group A, will face Portugal in their opener before taking on defending champions New Zealand and France.

The Port Elizabeth leg will be held on the weekend of December 7 and 8.

Meanwhile, the national Women’s 7s team was also named by coach Kevin Wambua.

They leave on Monday to participate in the Dubai International Sevens tournament that will run concurrently with the World Series.

Kenya squad to Dubai

Andrew Amonde (Captain), Collins Injera (Vice Captain), Patrice Agunda, Philip Wamae, Horace Otieno, Humphrey Mulama, Felix Ayange, Michael Wanjala, Biko Adema, Eden Agero, Oscar Ayodi, Leonard Mugaisi

Management: Paul Treu (Head Coach), Felix Ochieng (Assistant Coach), Vuyo Zangqa (Attack Coach), Graham Bentz (Strength & Conditioning Coach), Lameck Bogonko (Physio), Steven Sewe (Team Manager)

TANZANIA, November 24- The first full day that the Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic 2013 spent in Tanzania proved to be full of incident with some cars suffering enormous setbacks and others progressing smoothly with few problems.

After briefly losing his lead to Stig Blomqvist, Kenyan ace Ian Duncan again proved to be a steady and fast performer in his Ford Capri V8 Perana and finished the day fifteen seconds ahead of his Swedish rival in the team Tidö Porsche 911.

On the first competitive section this morning, the winners of the 2007 and 2011 Safari Classic rallies crashed out in spectacular fashion.

Björn Waldegård, co-driven by his son, Mathias, took a double concrete drift – a dry river crossing – a little too fast not far after the start of the 160 km section.

The rear of their Porsche 911 kicked into the air and it flipped. The car rolled once completely and then did another half roll to wind up on the co-driver’s side. Both occupants were shaken but not visibly hurt.

However, as a precaution, after their return to Arusha in the event’s medical helicopter they were flown on to Nairobi for a thorough check over in hospital. When they retired, the Waldegårds were lying third overall.

The Fastest man over that long opening section was Bernard Munster in his Porsche 911, half a minute quicker than Blomqvist at the wheel of a Team Tidö Porsche 911.

In his turn, Blomqvist was a minute and half quicker than the overnight leader, Duncan, who had to stop to change a rear wheel puncture.

Thus after the section, Blomqvist was the new leader by thirty seconds from Duncan with Munster now third overall just over four minutes behind Blomqvist.

All this was despite Blomqvist having gearbox problems in the section, losing third gear first of all and then finishing with just second and fourth gears working.

Close behind Munster were two more Porsches, the BMA car of Gregoire de Mevius and the Tuthill car of Gérard Marcy.

The trio were covered by a mere forty seconds over the section with the Amigos Team Datsun 260Z of Geoff Bell a full four and half-minutes behind Marcy.

Bell’s problem was that his Datsun 260Z broke a drive shaft some five kilometres from the end and he had to crawl out at much reduced speed losing maybe a minute and a half as a result.

The Kronos Vintage Porsche of Jean-Pierre Mondron broke a main bolt in its rear suspension and was marooned for the rest of the day some 60 km from the end of the section.

Brake problems in the Amigos Team Datsun 260Z of Steve Perez were the bane of his day. This started during this first section and continued throughout the day despite a bit of DIY brake bleeding from co-driver, John Millington.

The second competitive section, run over roads out to the west of Lake Manyara, saw Gregoire de Mevius set the first of two consecutive fastest times on sections that were more ‘European’ than the first one.

Duncan, running first on the road, was troubled with traffic on the first of these two sections but later starters – unsurprisingly – reported fewer problems.

Munster discovered that he had a problem with his Porsche’s clutch not disengaging after the first section so had it changed at service.

Unbeknown to him, a stone had already damaged a rear brake pipe and twenty kilometres into the second competitive section of the day, he found that the pedal was going down and soon he only had front brakes.

This was to continue on the third and final section of the day when he locked up a front wheel, got the front of the car into a ditch with the rear wheels off the ground and had to use a manual winch to get the car out as he dropped down to 12th.

With many having problems, those who had no issues profited considerably.

Perhaps the best example is Aziz Tejpar in his Viking Escort Mk2 who is now lying seventh after a day that he described as ‘generally very enjoyable’ and during which he drove most of the way on the same Dunlop tyres from the day before.

Some 20 seconds behind him are the Kenyan pair of Onkar Rai and Baldev Chager in a Porsche 911.

Chager, the new Kenyan Rally Champion for 2013 continues to co-drive but will get into the driving seat during the last four days of the rally.

Rounding up the top ten are two more Porsche 911s, the Kronos Vintage car of Phillip Vandromme and the Tuthill car driven by local father and son team, David and Alex Horsey.

As the competitive distance grows, the gaps between the front-runners are beginning to open up with 26 now covering the top six cars in general classification.

But in the individual scraps for places, there is still plenty that could happen. With four competitive sections, Sunday has the longest competitive distance out of the eight days at nearly 325 km.

Quotes from the top six.

Car no. 3   Ian Duncan/Amaar Slatch Ford Capri V8 Perana

No real problems to report really. We had a rear left puncture about a third of the way into that first section and stopped to change it. The only other thing was that, being first car on the road, we did find quite a bit of traffic on the second section but managed to avoid any real confrontations.

Car no. 5   Stig Blomqvist/Staffan Parmander Porsche 911

The gearbox started to feel funny on the first section and after a while we lost third gear. That wasn’t so bad but then we lost everything but second and fourth gears so our speed dropped off a bit towards the end. Anyway, we were still second fastest and the Tuthill guys changed the box after the section. To tell the truth, I think our suspension is maybe too firm as we find it hard to get good traction from the rear tyres. Not normal for a Porsche!

Car no. 2   Gregoire de Mevius/Alain Guehennec Porsche 911

When we saw Björn and Mathias standing outside their car waving OK we were relieved but the thought came to me ‘If that can happen to Björn, I had better be careful’. Thus we drove very steadily for the rest of that section. Perhaps we lost some one and half minutes but it felt better that way. But the last two sections were perfect for us so we had a bit of a go and got those fastest times so that we are now within two minutes of Stig. And our BMA car feels in really good condition – so we try to keep it that way.

Car no. 6    Gérard Marcy/Stéphané Prevot Porsche 911

No, we have not speeded up ! We are going at our same pace and keeping our head. No problem with the car and it is running perfectly. There are times when I would like to have that extra power and torque from the engine that most of the other serious Porsches have but maybe it is best this way.

Car no. 7   Steve Perez/John Millington Datsun 260Z

Rather a difficult day thanks to our brakes. We lost the pedal first about forty-five kilometres from the end of the first section. When we got to service, there was no time to try and bleed them to see if we could cure the problem as it turned out that we had broken an engine mount and that demanded priority. So we had to tackle the second section with them still much the same. John [Millington] tried to bleed them himself between the second and third sections but they did not improve much. On the second section, we nearly hit a bus – it was one of those with its chassis twisted so that the front of the bus is where it ought to be but the rear is on your side of the road. Somehow we missed it

KAMPALA, Uganda, November 24- Having seen Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich upstage them at the Olympics and World Championships, Kenyan runners gained some measure of revenge by scooping the double at Sunday’s 10th running of the MTN Kampala Marathon.

Dominic Kimwetich Kangor, 24, successfully held on to his men’s 42km title to become the first repeat winner of the event whilst Kapsabet based full-marathon debutant Gladys Kipsoi, 28, enjoyed a dream start to her ultimate distance career by clinching the corresponding women’s race as the Kenyans broke into Ugandan armoury and stole the headlines in a commanding show of dominance.

By the time Kangor and Kipsoi raced to the USh14m (Sh560,000) winner’s prize money apiece, Kiprotich, who won the top medal at both London Olympics and Moscow Worlds had left the Kagogo Airstrip finishing area but there was no denying which nation was on top on this occasion as the hosts were let to dominate the lesser races namely, 21km and 10km events.

“I won the 21km race of this event three years ago and it opened up the doors for me since this year and the last have seen me bring pride to my nation.

“The turnout by Ugandans here today (Sunday) shows how I have inspired many to take athletics and the future is bright for this country,” Kiprotich said as the athletes tackled the tough course with a few hills in the event ran under overcast conditions and high humidity following heavy overnight rains in the Ugandan capital.

Kangor seeks to three-peat

Having come here last year and demolished the field, Eldoret based Eagle Athletics Club runner, David Kangor, retained his men’s title in a more crushing victory over the field in 2:15:06, chalking off over two minutes from his winning time last year.

The Brighton Marathon champion stepped up the pace at 12km before allowing the leading pack to push up the pace until the 32K mark to thin the frontrunners to Ethiopian Haile Berhamu, Uganda’s Patrick Cherotwo and himself.

Five kilometres later and seemingly distraught at the slow pace, he pressed his foot down the accelerator and motored away for victory.

His second decisive surge built such an advantage over his rivals that none was anywhere near when two motorcycles crashed on the last bend to the homestretch causing him to stop before jumping over them and sprinting for the tape.

“I want to come back next year and win a third now that I’m the first to win this race twice. Understanding the course helped a lot and despite the interference, I was able to take two minutes off my time from last year.

“It is my wish to also defend my Brighton Marathon title and to be included in the Kenyan team for the Commonwealth Games in Scotland next year,” the elated winner told.

“Having just run his PB (2:11:56) in Melbourne in October (13), he told me he was interested in coming to Uganda to defend his title and I agreed and I’m happy it worked.

“The world should watch out for him since he is a young runner but I do not intend on entering him in many races so that he does not burn out,” his coach, Phillip Maiyo, who accompanied him alongside six of his club-mates added.

The tiring Haile and Cherotwo were overtaken by his fast finishing compatriot Paul Matheka (2:17:02) for the Kenyan 1-2 as the home runner claimed bronze in 2:18:10 with the Ethiopian finishing just outside the medals eight seconds adrift.

“Look, I finished number three,” Haile insisted still not believing he had been pushed back the finishing order as the exertions of the tough course took their toll.

Kipsoi glows in debut win

Having spent the last few years of her career in the half marathon and 10K, 15K and 25K road races, Kipsoi decided two months ago to step up to the ultimate distance.

The single athlete resorted to the Internet to search for a race in East Africa where she could make her silent announcement to gauge her fortitude and the MTN Kampala Marathon provided the best option.

“When I contacted the organisers, they asked me to register through Athletics Kenya and that is how I found myself here.

“I’m sure my manager in France will be very impressed with my win here and book me races in Europe,” the thrilled winner who detached herself from her challengers at the 22km for an obstructed (if you remove the trailing men runners) view to the tape told.

“I was impressed by the organisation save for the motorbikes that kept cutting to us and in some cases, colliding with the runners but despite the bad weather at the start and tough course, it was such fun and I wish to return here again and again,” the runner who is coached by Said Aziz, who made his name as the 2008 Olympics 800m women’s champion, Pamela Jelimo, trainer in her Annus Mirabilis stated.

The winner arrived at the tape in 2:40:05, well over four minutes ahead of runner-up Rosina Kiboino (2:44:58) and Sally Jemutai (2:46:58) who sealed the Kenyan podium sweep.

An unlisted Ethiopian runner took fourth with Ugandan Irene Chemusto (2:55:16) further breaking their neighbour’s monotony in a race where Kenyans took six of the top ten positions.

As a spectacle, the event enveloped Kampala in a sea of yellow, the corporate colour of the title sponsors as it marked it decade themed ‘Run for Water’ with monies raised due for provision of the precious commodity to the remote Karamajoong region of Uganda.

“I cannot say more, the turn out here is enough proof that we have managed to reach most Ugandans and having an inspirational athlete like Kiprotich has helped in bringing out the numbers.

“As a company, the association between Kampala Marathon and us is part of our presence in this country and we will be involved as long as we operate in this country,” MTN Uganda CEO, Mazen Mroue said.

In total, over 22,000 participants took part in the full, 21km and 10km events on Sunday, braving the Kampala chill to take to the streets with vengeance with more than 100,000 converging at the route and Kololo Airstrip as the spectacle unfolded.

Ugandan pair Daniel Rotich (1:03:54) and Linet Toroitich (1:16:00) caught the bouquets in the men and women 21km events with the home nation also clinching the double in the 10km runs courtesy of Phillip Kipyeko (29:20) and Nancy Cheptegei (35:26).

LEADING RESULTS

MEN 42KM

1. Dominic Kimwetich KEN 2:15:06

2. Paul Katisa KEN 2:17:02

3. Patrick Cherotwo UGD 2:18:10

4. Haile Berhamu ETH 2:18:18

5. Francis Musana UGD 2:18:20

6. Earnest Kipruto KEN 2:18:36

7. John Birgen KEN 2:18:50

8. Wycliffe Simotwo UGD 2:20:07

9. Martin Nyakua UGD 2:20:40

10. Moses Cherop UGD 2:25:23

WOMEN 42KM (ALL KENYAN UNLESS STATED)

1. Gladys Kipsoi 2:40:05

2. Rosina Kiboino 2:44:58

3. Sally Jemutai 2:46:58

4. Not listed

5. Irene Chemusto UGD 2:55:16

6. Abigail Toroitich 2:56:41

7. Truphena Kurui 3:00:28

8. Gladys Cheruiyot 3:06:19

9. Agnes Cheptitos UGD 3:15:06

10. Ruth Ahimbisiwe UGD 3:22:45

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 24-World 1500m champion and 2008 Beijing gold winner, Asbel Kiprop, is recuperating at home after surviving a Sunday night car crash along the Kabarnet-Eldoret road.

Kiprop who was at the wheel at the time, lost control of his vehicle at a bend before landing in a ditch after it hit a rock and after being taken to an Eldoret hospital, he was discharged after treatment for bruising.

“He is okay now and there’s nothing serious about his condition. He is resting at home and he should be fine after being discharged this morning,” his coach, David Letting, told Capital Sport from Eldoret on phone.

“He’s okay. He was treated at the hospital in Eldoret for some bruises and allowed to go home,” world marathon record holder, Wilson Kipsang, who accompanied Kiprop and his fellow passenger, James Kangogo to hospital told AFP.

“The car’s front bumper was slightly damaged,” added Kipsang.

Kiprop, 24, successfully held on to his Worlds crown in Moscow after failing to impress at last year’s Olympics due to a hamstring injury suffered on the day of their departure from London.

In 2011, he was finally presented with the Olympics gold medal he won in Beijing after the previous winner, Bahrain’s Rashid Ramzy was stripped off it for doping.

He also won all his three Diamond League races over the distance this season in Doha, Shanghai and Monaco.

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 25 – Retired Chelsea defensive stalwart, Marcel Desailly has broken ranks with his former side and tipped London rivals Arsenal to bag the English Premier League (EPL) crown this season.

Speaking to Capital Sport in Nairobi on Monday, the Ghanaian-born French World and European cup winner also urged federations across the continent to structure their domestic leagues to act as feeders to the EPL.

“Arsenal probably, they can make it only if they maintain the good run, but I would like Liverpool to show up. They drew against Everton and I would like them to see their name on the trophy after a long time.

“This season is very interesting because everyone is on his toes and expecting something special or disappointment, I’m very pleased the way it’s going on because its boosting the significance of the EPL,” the father of four who is currently running his personal Charity Orphan Aid Foundation that helps abandoned children in Ghana told Capital Sport.

Desailly was in the company of the EPL trophy that made its second tour to Kenya as the brand ambassador of the competition he excelled as a defender.

“The people in charge of federations in Africa have to work hard on it because we have a lot of talent. We are talking about forming many academies that will raise the players both in sports and education to enable them become professional soccer players,” he remarked on continental football.

He however challenged other African countries to qualify for the next World Cup to stop the usual West African teams who make the showpiece regularly.

“I’m not too pleased to see most of the African teams that have qualified for the World Cup come from West Africa.

“I would like it to be spread a bit more and I will be happy to see teams from East Africa like Kenya or Ethiopia to come up, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, all come from the same region, other teams should follow the example.”

“We hope this time an African team will reach the semi final. We need to work more, Cameroon almost did it, Nigeria was close and Ghana obviously everybody knows what happened in 2010 when (Luis) Suarez denied them in South Africa,” he stated.

Desailly who was a centerback,  can only be described as the most successful player, having won all the major titles, the World Cup with France in 1998, Euro 2000, the Champions League with Olympique de Marseille in 1992, AC Milan (1994) and the FA Cup with Chelsea (2000).

“My only regret in my career was in 1995/96 when I lost the Champions League against Ajax after winning it twice in a row, and once again I was focusing on a treble, and this has really pained me up to date.

“There were good players who came after me, when Patrick Viera joined AC Milan, he was too young, he could not get position and play in the first choice, what is good he has been very serious in his career and made it in Juventus, Arsenal and Manchester City, I’m happy about him,” Desailly who described former England international Alan Shearer as the most difficult striker he has played against said.

The EPL trophy Goodwill Ambassador who will be in the country for two days, later conducted a football clinic at Ligi Ndogo Soccer Academy where he encouraged the players to be ready to sacrifice their teenage moments.

“The players need to work hard and respect the various element that football require in order to succeed, also there is education part, they need to know that at some point they will become entrepreneurs through their brand if they turn professional,” Desailly who developed through the football system in France, playing in Under-15, 17, 19 and eventually national team stressed.

The trophy arrived in the country on Sunday from Botswana before heading to South Africa which are the only African nations that it will visit, and continue to the Middle East, Asia and North America for the first leg of a three year tour.

NAIROBI, Kenya- The fourth day of the Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic Rally took in four stages of which the shortest was a two-kilometre sprint round a cement quarry.

This section was included to give spectators from the Nairobi area a chance to see the rally cars in action with the stages shaking up the leader board in no uncertain fashion.

On the first section, the fastest man was Richard Göransson in a Team Tidö Porsche 911 but after his earlier problems, he is classified in the mid-20s and can only hope to make up a small part of his two and half hour deficit to the leaders.

More interesting for the overall classification was that Gregoire de Mevius, driving a BMA Porsche 911, was second fastest.

With slower times recorded by Ian Duncan – the overnight leader in his Ford Capri V8 – and Stig Blomqvist in his Team Tidö Porsche 911, De Mevius thus took the lead.

Blomqvist was in on-going trouble with his brakes which, despite several attempts by the Tuthill mechanics to tighten wheel bearings and play with the brake pedal box, was still suffering from ’knock-off’ that could leave the driver without brakes at the end of a straight.

In one such place, they slid off and he had to use the jack to get stones under the rear wheels to get down off the bank.

For Duncan, the problem was the usual one of collecting a puncture and stopping to change it.

In the same section, Viking Motorsport lost its best-classified Ford Escort when Aziz Tejpar came to a halt with a broken strut that ripped out the rest of the front suspension.

And the Porsche of Josef Jobst/Jürgen Bertl limped out on four cyinders after their Porsche had broken a valve in the engine that promptly went on to break two rocker arms.

There was work too for the medical helicopter when Franz Wünderlich hit a drift hard enough with his Porsche 911 to damage his spine.

He drove slowly out of the stage and was then spirited away to hospital in Nairobi with co-driver, Klaus-Peter Kristek.

However, De Mevius’s lead was not to last long since some 73km into the next competitive section the Belgian ace went off the road and could not regain the track thanks to a broken driveshaft.

Fastest man here was Geoff Bell in the Amigos team Datsun 260Z who by virtue of that moved ahead of his team leader Steve Perez, also Datsun 260Z mounted, With good times also for the Porsches of Blomqvist and Gérard Marcy, Blomqvist regained the lead of this fascinating rally with a margin of nearly two minutes over Duncan who had sustained no fewer than three punctures in this section.

The more worrying news for the Kenyan driver was that Marcy was now only 11 seconds behind in third with Bell some two and a half minutes further back in fourth.

Better news for local drivers was that David and Alex Horsey had moved up in their Tuthill Porsche 911 to sixth behind Perez while Onkar Rai/Baldev Chager were now eighth.

Apart from Alastair Cavenagh suffering the minor indignity of breaking a throttle cable on his Viking Ford Escort Mk2 and having to complete the section peering past co-driver, Carl Tundo who was sitting under the open bonnet operating the carburettors by hand, the spectator stage had no effect on the general classification.

On the stage itself, the fastest man was Duncan who managed to take nine seconds away from Blomqvist’s lead and eight from Marcy just behind him.

Chager was the fastest in the last section with the new national rally champion quite happy with that performance, despite losing third gear.

However many others, including the leaders, came out of that section complaining about the fact that there were errors in the road book caused by recent road works that had not been highlighted or corrected by the three-day car.

The situation at the end of the day is that provisionally Blomqvist led Duncan by 50 seconds with Marcy just over eight minutes behind in third.

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 25 – Harambee Stars head coach Adel Amrouche is counting on home advantage to lift the side to Cecafa Senior Cup glory when the regional showdown kicks-off on Wednesday.

The hosts have been training at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani, as they seek to reclaim the title they last won in 2002.

“All is well at the camp and the boys are well prepared, everyone has to prove himself because they are all local based and I think this is a good platform for them to showcase their talent.

“Those I selected deserve to be in the national team since they excelled in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) and some of them were recognized as best players,” Amrouche who will be guiding the team for the first time in the regional tournament told Capital Sport on Monday.

KPL top scorer and KCB’s forward Jacob Keli, says the team has no option but to win for the country that will be celebrating 50 years of existence on December 12 when the final is set to be played.

“It’s a difficult task ahead but we need to win it for Kenyans and I will give my best since I want to score goals for my nation,” Keli who was recently crowned as the best player in the KPL added.

Stars who are pooled in Group A, begin their campaign with an opener against the Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia before taking on Zanzibar and South Sudan.

The boys reached the finals of last year’s edition in Kampala, losing 2-1 to their perennial rivals Uganda Cranes.

Meanwhile, the defending champions and the Amavumbi Stars of Rwanda are the latest teams to arrive in the country.

They join Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Burundi and guest team Chipolopolo from Zambia who checked in over the weekend.

All the preliminary matches will be played in Nairobi and Machakos, while the quarter finals will be staged in Mombasa as Kisumu will host semi finals.

The final will be played at Nairobi’s Nyayo National Stadium.

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 26 – With hours to the GOtv Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup, Harambee Stars head coach Adel Arouche, is targeting a win in their first match against the Walia Antelopes of Ethiopia.

Amrouche who will name his final squad of 20 on Wednesday, have a difficult task to select the first team since all the players are fit for the regional showpiece.

“The preparations are good and we are always positive since we are playing at home, we don’t want to put pressure on the players who are in the good mood.

“We lost two players due to injury including Paul Were who was the right player for Cecafa because he finished the Kenyan Premier League on a high, but we had to drop him and replace with Azam midfielder Humphrey Mieno who also can’t play because he said he has injury.

“But I have no problem since this tournament is for the local based who need to prove themselves,” the coach who will be guiding Stars in the competition for the first time said after conducting their training at Moi Sports Complex.

“I respect all the teams that are participating in the tournament including Somalia and we are approaching one match at a time because we need victory for our people,” he continued.

Amrouche said his main objective is to use the competition to prepare the team for 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. “Kenya need this team to play in Africa Home Nations Cup and the players should prove themselves to earn a call up and join professional players ahead of the next qualifiers,” he concluded.

All teams are in the country with Zanzibar and Ethiopia arriving later Tuesday. Zanzibar faces South Sudan in the opener before Stars take on the Antelopes in Group A, at Nyayo National Stadium.

Group B will see Tanzania square it out against guest team Zambia, Burundi and Somalia as defending champions Uganda Cranes will lock horns with Rwanda, Sudan and Eritrea in Group C.

Tickets will be sold at Sh200 (USD 2.30) for terraces while VIP will retail at Sh500 (USD 5.75). The competition will run till December 12.

NAIVASHA, Kenya, November 26 – Ian Duncan recaptured the Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic lead after winning two of the three stages in Day 6.

Duncan unleashed an almost flawless drive to upstage previous front runner Stig Blomqvist of Sweden.
Navigated by Amaar Slatch in a Ford Capri, Duncan catapulted to the top of the leader board from the day’s opening stage at Amboseli Fence and clung onto to the very end at Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge where the overnight halt will be based for the next two days.

Duncan was back in the groove with a 2.5minutes cushion over Blomqvist.

The overnight lead has only exchanged hands between Blomqvist and the Kenyan 1994 Safari Rally champion since the start of the event on November 21.

Duncan set the quickest time of 69.26minutes in the 109km CS14 Bulls Eye stage, then shared the fastest stage time of 25minutes with South African Geoff Bell in the 48km CS15 run in Kajiado while the latter was the quickest again in the preceding 61km Olepolos stage.

Blomqvist’s second fastest time of 70.26minutes in CS14, precisely a minute behind the leader, saw him trail the Kenyan with a mere 10 seconds but the gap widened as the rally wore on.

Duncan extended his advantage to over a minute from the Swede after CS15.

Onkar Rai who is sharing a Porsche 911 with 2013 Kenya Champion Baldev Chager who has since taken charge at the wheel after the former started the race incurred a total of 9 minutes road penalties for late check-in to Tuesday’s service at Ol Tukai Lodge to drop out of fourth but the other Kenyan crew of Peter Horsey moved up to fifth.

The first section running from Amboseli Fence to Kajiado was wet whilst the preceding two turned out to be dry and dusty.

Alastair Cavenagh and Carl Tundo had no problems with their Viking Ford Escort MK2 car other than going off in the day’s opening stage in Amboseli where they lost 10minutes in the wake.

“The first stage was a bit wet so went off in exactly the same position we had encountered an off on Sunday. We have now decided that we shall not be taking any unnecessary risks as the car is getting weary as we move on,” said Cavenagh.

Belgian Gregoire who set a number of stage wins on the Tanzanian side was happy with the wet conditions.

“It was so much fun in the first section which was wet. The second and third were dry so it was a challenge again adjusting to the conditions. The sections in the Safari are longer than what we experience in Europe where we do shorter stages up to 25km so you have to concentrate for a longer period,” said De Mevius.

Rally manager Ashok Bhalla said the next three days are anticipated to be wet and slippery which will be a repeat of the 2011 event.

“Soysambu is really wet as of now whilst the Suswa stage could be tricky if wet,” said Ashok.

WHERE TO CATCH THE ACTION – November 27

07.00:: Restart Naivasha Sopa

07.09:: CS17-Kedong Ranch 1-Longonot 1 (32.47km)

08.37:: CS18-Suswa-Kongoni (45km) <— CANCELLED DUE TO LOGISTICAL PROBLEMS

11.25::CS19-Soysambu-Green Park (83.78km)

13.30::CS20-Kedong Ranch 2-Longonot 2 (32.47km)

14.30: Naivasha Sopa 3 IN

MOMBASA, Kenya, November 29 – Legendary driver Ian Duncan sealed his second Kenya Airways East African Safari Rally triumph in a dramatic finale that saw the local ace clinch the crown on the very last stretch of the gruelling nine-day event.

Duncan in his carroty Ford Capri had his campaign effectively sewn-up when the 1984 World Rally Champion and closest rival Stig Blomqvist punctured on the rally’s last stage in Majengo near Mariakani as curtains came down on the 2013 edition in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa.

The winner and Swede maestro started the last day of Safari Classic on Friday morning separated by just nine seconds with Duncan possessing the thin advantage.

On the first competitive section – a run back through the Taita Hills –the two drivers set equal fastest times with the stopwatch unable to separate them.

But on the second section in Mackinon Road, the tide turned in Blomqvist’s favor as he beat Duncan by 47 and led the contest by 38 with just one competitive section before reaching the finish ramp at the Whitesands Hotel in Mombasa.

However, the final decisive twist in this extraordinary endurance rally for classic cars was to happen when the Swede punctured on the last section to lose four minutes as he surrendered the title to the Kenyan who was navigated by his trusted aide Amar Slatch.

“Last time we won (2009) we were leading on the last day by 9 minutes, this time it was 9 seconds so today was stressful! Just because of that pressure it was much more challenging this year,” the winner said.
Blomqvist who was navigated by compatriot Staffan Parmander had was downcast after a flat tire put paid to his hopes of reclaiming the classic rally title.

“Of course it could have been a better day. We had a puncture in the last section not too far from the end and had to change it. It’s been close for the victory on other rallies I’ve done but not on a long, hard event like this,” he offered.

Third place went to Belgians, Gérard Marcy and Stéphané Prevot driving – like Blomqvist and Parmander – a Tuthill prepared Porsche 911.

Steve Perez from Britain came in fourth followed by all Kenyan crew of Onkar rai and Baldev Chager in a Porcshe 911.
Kenyan father-and-son crew, David and Alex Horsey, took sixth place in another Tuthill prepared Porsche 911 with Safari Rally lover John Lloyd in seventh in a Viking Ford Escort Mk2 co-driven by Gavin Laurence.

The remainder of the top ten were occupied by Porsche 911s with Gregoire de Mevius and Alain Guehennec taking eighth in a BMA Porsche 911.

Local crew of Manvir Baryan and Jaswinder Chana claimed ninth with the Belgians Patrick Van Heurck and Alain Lopez rounding up the top finishers in another Tuthill Porsche 911.

PROVISIONAL FINAL RESULTS

1. Ian Duncan (Ford Capri, KEN) 16:54:46 hours
2.Stig Blomqvist (Porsche 911, SWE) +3:14
3. Gerald Marcy (Porsche 911, BEL) +44:59
4. Steve Perez (Datsun 260Z, GRB) +56:03
5. Onkar Singh Rai (Porsche 911, KEN) +59:30
6. David Horsey (Porsche 911, KEN) +70:30
7. John Lloyd (Ford Escort RS 1800, GRB) +81:32
8. Gregoire De Mevius (Porsche 911, BEL) +99:08
9. Manvir Baryan (Porsche 911, KEN) +116:58
10. Patrick Van Heurck (Porcshe 911, BEL) +123:13

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 29- Football Kenya Federation (FKF) were forced on Friday to deny rumours of a split with the country’s Belgian national head coach Adel Amrouche ahead of their must-win encounter against Zanzibar in the ongoing Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup.

Amrouche was not present in the dugout during their opening Group A encounter against Ethiopia that ended in a barren stalemate with local media awash with claims the Belgian and FKF were headed for divorce over pay.

He is however, expected to be back to lead the side against pace setters Zanzibar on Saturday.

“FKF wishes to express its disappointment with reports appearing in the press to the effect that there are frosty relations between us and the national team head coach Adel Amrouche.

“FKF wishes to inform all that there is no bad blood between the Federation and Amrouche as being portrayed by a section of the media,” a statement from the federation said.

While insisting that the Belgian was still in charge, the governing body added: “As a federation we are committed to ensuring that the coach has the best working environment any coach would want.

“We have always ensured the coach is paid his dues in time and accorded all his needs.”
According to them, Amrouche missed the opener after his doctor advised him to stay put after he was taken ill on the eve of the Wednesday game against Ethiopia.

Kenya need a win over surprise group leaders Zanzibar who opened their campaign by stunning Southern Sudan 2-1 to maintain their interest in the regional competition they are hosting for the first time since 2009.

Media outlets in the country cited mounting unpaid dues from the often cash-strapped federation as the reason behind
Amrouche’s no show against Ethiopia with his assistant, James Nandwa, taking over.

“FKF as any other organisation sometimes faces financial constrains and wish to inform you that the coach has never personally raised any issue over his outstanding dues,” the statement went on saying that any misunderstanding “has been amicably addressed”.

Amrouche, the former Burundi national team coach, took over in February after his predecessor; Frenchman Henri Michel quit the side and took FKF to court over three months’ unpaid arrears.

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 30- Paul Treu’s former charges South Africa inflicted defeat on Kenya in the Main Cup before their Dubai 7s outing ended in the Plate Semis to Wales to wrap up the new coach’s first outing with the side on Saturday.

The script was written for Treu to demonstrate to the side he left in October what they would be missing but it was the Blitz Bokke who got off to a firing start in the first half of their Main Cup quarters.

Sampie Mastriet and Frankie Horne breached Kenya’s try line with the boot of Branco du Preez converting both for a 14-0 half time lead.

Felix Ayange and Oscar Ayodi made it a two-point game as Treu’s new charges roared back in the second half after Biko Adema missed the second conversion.

With Kenya pressing forward with wind in their sails, a great individual try from du Preeze who rose up to nail the seven points at the death saw the Bokkes who sailed to the final against Fiji through to the last four.

Relegated to the Plate, Kenya then bowed out of competition falling to a 24-19 sudden death defeat to Wales.
Lee Walker was quick off the mark, touching down after just 44 seconds of play, Alex Walker converting to give Wales a 7-0 lead.

Kenya would get back in the game, Collins Injera scoring his 165th HSBC Sevens World Series try with Adema converting to level the scores at 7-7.

Jason Harries would retake the lead for Wales, touching down on the stroke of half time with Alex Walker converting to give the Welsh a 14-7 lead heading into half time.

Ayodi would land for Kenya on the restart, Adema missing the conversion with the scores now 14-12.

Andrew Amonde would put Kenya ahead, scoring under the posts with Adema converting for a 19-14 lead before Harries’ try at the death took the match into extra time, 19-19 the scores at full time.

Ashley Evans would break Kenya’s hearts, his try in sudden death extra giving Wales the 24-19 result.
Kenya got through to the Dubai Sevens main cup quarter finals with a match to spare, beating France 14-5 in their second Pool A fixture. They fell 40-0 to New Zealand in their final group game.

Treu’s side have been pooled alongside Canada, Spain and the losing finalist in the Main Cup between Fiji and South Africa for the next stop in Port Elizabeth.

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 30 – Adel Amrouche returned to the dugout to witness his charges maintain interest in the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup with a 3-1 stuffing of Southern Sudan on Saturday.

The Belgian head coach who missed the 0-0 opener against Ethiopia with illness sparking speculation about his future rung in the changes bringing in James Situma and Aboud Omar at the back with domestic league Golden Boot winner Jacob Keli and

AFC Leopards Noah Wafula who were instrumental in the victory shoring up the attack.

“I’m very happy with the team especially playing with two strikers which really worked, I respect Southern Sudan since they played very well, they have a very good striker who scored the goal but the moment he was withdrawn, I was pleased because it enabled defender (David) Owino to overlap and eventually, he gave us the winning goal.

“We are now focusing on our next match against Zanzibar, I know it will be a tough match but we will prepare for them and improve on our mistakes,” assistant coach James Nandwa said after the victory that lifted the hosts to four points, same as Ethiopia who stuffed the Islanders 3-1 in the other Saturday Group A encounter.

Zanzibar are on three and still not out of contention for the quarterfinals with Sudan propping the rear after two loses.

“The boys have done a good job bearing in mind that I was only given two weeks to prepare this team.

“We managed to hold Kenya on their turf and I promise if I get more time, I will beat them since I know how they play,” the Southern Sudan coach Balanga Bandua who was recently appointed stated.

Azam defender Joackins Atudo gave Kenya the lead in the 17th minute through a penalty after Jimmy Eresto handled in the box and referee Waziri Sheha from Zanzibar did not hesitate to point to the spot.

The hosts almost doubled the lead two minutes later but Allan Wanga who wasted Keli’s great pass by shooting straight at Juma Jinaro.

The visitors, who were participating in their second international tournament, equalised through skipper Richard Lado via a long range shot that caught keeper Duncan Ochieng flat-footed in the 26th.

Three minutes later Stars were at it again through Kenyan Premier League (KPL) Player of the Year Keli, who found the back of the net after connecting with Wafula’s cross to put them back on the lead.

The KCB marksman now on high demand thought he had notched his brace in the 31st but saw the goal ruled for offside after being put through by Wanga.

South Sudan brought in Edmond Amadeo for Wol Bor Yol as Kenya pressed on for more but the half time whistle with the hosts 2-1 up.

Clifton Miheso then saw his shot miss the target by a whisker after combining with Francis Kahata in the 57th for Kenya’s first clear opportunity of the second period.

South Sudan had a chance to level matters in the 64th but their free kick was cut off by Situma.
Atudo had a chance to score his double from the spot after the Southern Sudan Keeper fouled Keli in the box, but his penalty was easily saved by Jinaro in the 69th.

Eight minutes later, KPL champions Gor Mahia defender Owino skilfully directed a low shot into the back of the net for the third after he charged upfront as hundreds of Stars fans went into raptures.

Amrouche made three substitutions that came in the dying minutes with Edwin Lavatsa for injured Keli, David King’atua coming in for Wafula but the time did not allow them to add to the tally.

In the earlier kick-off, the Walia Antelopes beat Zanzibar 3-1 with Fasika Asfan, opening the scores in the fifth minute before Salahdin Bargecho, doubled the lead from the spot in the 37th.

Zanzibar pulled one back through captain Awadh Juma Issa, in the 68th but it was substitute Yonatan Kebede’s, 86th minute header that left the Islanders well beaten.

Stars next face Zanzibar while Ethiopia plays South Sudan on Tuesday at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos County.

In Sunday’s fixtures, Kilimanjaro Stars of Tanzania will be up against Somalia before Burundi takes on the Chipolopolo of Zambia at Nyayo National Stadium in Group B.

NAIROBI, Kenya, December 2 – Two Eritrean national team players went missing from camp ahead of their GOtv Cecafa Group C tie against defending champions Uganda Cranes on Monday at Nairobi’s City Stadium.

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) technical committee chairman Elly Mukholwe, confirmed to Capital Sport the duo who are yet to be identified, disappeared on Saturday when they went to watch a match at Nyayo National Stadium.

“It’s true two Eritrean players have escaped from camp since Saturday and they have not been found yet.

“We are having a meeting with Cecafa organizers to determine which action will be taken against the team,” the FKF technical director told.

This is not the first time the players vanish when they are participating in an international tournament, last year a number of them disappeared during the last year’s edition held in Kampala, Uganda with almost the entire team going missing when Kenya last held the tournament in 2009.

Meanwhile, TP Mazembe duo Mbwana Samata and Thomas Ulimwengu are expected to join the Kilimanjaro Stars camp, to boost their striking force in the ongoing regional tournament.

According to Tanzania head coach Kim Poulsen, who has seen his side found the back of the net only twice in the competition, the team has been lacking goals due to lack of experienced forwards.

“We have been struggling with our striking force in the past two games, and that’s means it will be good for us when the forwards joins the team for the rest of the competition.

“The duo will help the team create more chances and strengthen the attacking since we have been lacking goals, the first match against Zambia it was a defender who scored, so we need strong strikers ahead of our final preliminary match against Burundi on Wednesday,” the Danish-born coach who’s charges are at the top of Group B jointly with guests Zambia with four points said after seeing off Somalia 1-0 on Sunday.

The two players, who were drafted into Poulsen’s squad before the competition kicked-off, could not join the team for the first two matches since their Congolese club, TP Mazembe was hosting CS Sfaxien from Tunisia in the CAF Confederations Cup final on Saturday.

Mazembe won the match 2-1 with Mbwana Samatta scoring one of the goals but the Tunisian side clinched their third title in a 3-2 aggregate.

NAIROBI, Kenya, December 2 – Uganda Cranes captain Emmanuel Okwi returned to the national team with a brace, to help the defending champions Uganda join Sudan in the quarterfinals of the GOtv Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup after Cranes dismissed the timid challenge of Eritrea 3-0 at Nairobi’s City Stadium on Monday.

Cranes dominated the entire match with Gor Mahia talisman Dan Sserunkuma combining well with Okwi and Yanga striker Kiiza Hamis to destroy the Eritrean’s defense with all the goals coming in the first half.

“I’m impressed with the results but this is not the best I expected from my team, since they have not reached my standards yet.

“The comeback of captain Okwi was a major boost to our side because he combined very well with Sserunkuma who provided all the goals.

“In the second half, the boys did not play well, they underrated Eritrea and I wanted to score more goals to top the group. I will rest some of my best players in our last match against Sudan for the quarter finals,” the Ugandan tactician Milutin Sredojevic, said after the match.

Eritrea head coach Omer Ahmed said he is now focusing their last preliminary match against Rwanda which is a must win for the team that was rocked by news that two of its players had absconded the side to have a chance of qualifying as best losers.

“We played very well especially in the second half and I’m happy with the boys since they were playing against a very experienced side,” the coach who announced he is not concerned with his players that disappeared from camp since he has the best said.

Uganda could have opened the scoring in the fifth minute through Brian Majegwa but he wasted Nico wadada’s cross with his off-target header.

Two minutes later, Kiiza had a chance to record his name on the score sheet but he failed to convert Majegwa’s cross from the right.

Sserunkuma continued to cause havoc in the Eritrean defense and this time round providing a superb pass to Okwi who tapped home to open the scores in the 10th.

Eritrea custodian Abdulahi Abdurahman was forced to make crucial saves, to deny Okwi and Sserunkuma, as he easily as the Cranes fashioned two opportunities in succession.

The Gor Mahia forward was not yet done as he won a penalty when he was hacked down by Suarfael Tesfamekal when through on goal compelling referee Thiery Nkurunziza, from Burundi to point for a spot-kick which Kiiza converted in the 20th to extend the Cranes lead.

Sserunkuma’s good move from the right wing accounted for his third assist as his pin point pass to the captain saw him notch his brace six minutes to the break.

On the stroke of half-time, Sserunkuma thought he had scored only for Abdulahi to punch the ball for a corner-kick as Uganda headed to the dressing room for the breather with a three-goal advantage.

The Red Sea Camels of Eritrea emerged for the second a different side and they managed to halt the Cranes assault without managing to get on the score sheet themselves with the final score 3-0 to the defending champions.

In the earlier kick-off, Sudanese forward Salah Ibrahim scored a cracker to see his team beat Rwanda 1-0.

The lone goal, netted in the first half was all that the Sudan side needed to top the group jointly with Uganda with six points.

In Tuesday’s fixtures, Southern Sudan plays Ethiopia before the hosts take on Zanzibar at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru with all to play for in Group A. Kenya and Ethiopia lead the group on four points with Zanzibar on three.

NAIROBI, Kenya, December 2 – Kenya Sevens head coach Paul Treu has made three changes ahead of the third round of the HSBC World Series, the Nelson Mandela Bay 7s, that will run this weekend in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Injuries and school commitments to several key players have forced the South African coach to call up new players as he prepares to travel to his home town for the games.

Strathmore Leos Billy Odhiambo, Mwamba’s Dan Sikuta and Western Bull’s Davis Chenge makes a comeback to the team to replace Philip Wamae and Michael Wanjala who are unavailable because of injury while Patrice Agunda has returned home to sit for his end of year exams.

Dubai was a good learning step for Treu and his technical bench who are barely three weeks old with the team.

The coach admitted the players will take time to adapt his style of play as he builds the 2016 Olympics team.

“I know it will take a while for the players to adopt my new coaching philosophy but the players have grown their own pace, we just want to set our own milestone and target.

“The players are a pleasure to work with and our supporters are so grateful about the team and we just want to give back and make our nation proud,” Treu said after Kenya bowed out of the Dubai 7s in the plate semi-finals to Wales.

Kenya started the preliminary matches well beating a hard fighting Portugal 10 – 7 before white washing France 14 -5 and eventually losing to New Zealand 40-0.

Treu who lost 21-12 to Blitz Bokke in the Main Cup quarters, will once again face his former charges in Group B before battling it out with Canada and Spain.

NYAHURURU, Kenya, December 3- A Nyahururu court is set to rule next Monday whether an inquest into the controversial death of 2008 Olympic marathon champion Samuel Kamau Wanjiru will be heard in the town or in the High Court in Nairobi.

Nakuru High Court Judge, Anyara Emukule, had last year directed without giving reasons that the inquest be conducted in Nairobi by a Chief Magistrate.

But the marathoner’s wife Triza Njeri has now moved to court to seek the reasons unto why the inquest should not be held in Nyahururu.

The Marathon legend Wanjiru’s widow expressed surprise at the commencement of an inquest into circumstances surrounding her husband’s death but said that it should be held in their home town as opposed to the capital.

Njeri said she was eager to have the matter concluded and the cause of death revealed to all Kenyans so that she and her children can finally concentrate on rebuilding their lives.

Through her family lawyer Wahome Ndegwa, Wanjiru’s wife told the court on Tuesday that scene of death was Nyahururu, all witnesses are from the locality, documents and all CCTV materials are also in the town and anyone suggesting it be held in Nairobi is out to defeat a quick disposal of the inquest by making all involved incur hefty costs.

Ndegwa added while he was aware of Justice Emukule’s order he would urge the Chief Justice, Dr. Willy Mutunga, to appoint a special magistrate to hear evidence, visit scene and also receive all the documents pertaining to the death while conducting all sittings in Nyahururu.

The lawyer further told Nyahururu Senior Principal Magistrate, Dennis Mikoyan, that the inquest should be held there since all the necessary requirements were available.

Ndegwa added that young family of the marathon icon who died in May 15, 2011 remained a precious asset in the hearts of many people who continued to mourn his death and have held annual memories attended by thousands of residents.

The widow believes her husband died from a fall as arrived at by pathologist Dr. Peter Ndegwa.

However, Prosecution Counsel, John Mkufu, said that he had no objection as long as the two parties agreed.

The Senior Principal Magistrate had also advised the parties that the decision relied mostly on mutual agreement.

Mikoyan however ruled that he would consult with the chief justice’s office and have the go ahead given on December 9.

Kamau’s mother Hannah Wanjiru moved to court to have an inquest done accusing the wife of killing her son.

NAIROBI, Kenya, December 3 – Harambee Stars joined Ethiopia in qualifying for the quarter finals of the GOtv Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup following identical 2-0 wins over Zanzibar Heros and Southern Sudan on Tuesday at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru meaning a coin toss will decide Group A winners with the sides deadlocked on points, goal difference and head-to-head record.

“We have our objective to build this team to prepare for the next Nations Cup, we have not played any friendly and I can say we are really trying in this tournament.

“We gave (Noah) Wafula advice and directives he did not follow and that’s why I substituted him,” Stars tactician Adel Amrouche who dedicated the win to Nakuru fans who turned up in large numbers, said after another Jockins Atudo first half penalty and Allan Wanga neat finish in the second saw off the Heroes.

Zanzibar coach Salum Nassor blamed Cecafa organisers for playing the last pool matches on separate days alleging that results could be manipulated to see certain teams qualify to the last eight on the best third placed team ticket.

“Kenya has many pitches, so all the last matches of the groups could have been played at same time and day just like in England.

“The boys played very well but the referee was not fair, he contributed to my loss,  all in all I have accepted the results and I congratulate both teams for a game well played,” Nassor who now waits to see whether the luck of the best losers will be on his side stated.

The hosts started the match on a high, with AFC Leopards duo of Wanga and Wafula and KCB’s Jacob Keli combining well to inspire Stars to their second victory in Group A.

Keli utilized his pace to tear apart the Zanzibar defense, leading Shafi Hassan to foul Francis Kahata in the box, and center referee Idam Hamid from Sudan did not hesitate to wave for a penalty that Azam midfielder Atudo net his second spot-kick to give Kenya the lead on five minutes.

The Heros responded immediately through Masoud Ali who blasted a shot that forced keeper Duncan Ochieng to punch for a corner-kick.

The Kenyan Premier League Golden Boot winner Keli was at it again in the 15th with a powerful strike that keeper Abdalla Rashid saved.

Stand in captain Wanga saw his shot blocked by the Zanzibari defense, but it was Peter Opiyo who could have added his name on the score sheet with his cracker that forced Abdalla to punch away in the 23rd.

Suleiman Kassim had a chance to equalize for the Heroes after receiving a pass from Masoud only for him to hit the side netting.

Ochieng was forced to deny Suleiman Khamis twice in succession as the hosts went to the brak a goal to the good.

Stars continued where they left, with Keli’s shot blocked before he blasted another one wide upon resumption.

Wanga received a fine pass from Keli, to unleash a cracker that beat Abdulahi to notch the second goal for Kenya in the 59th.

Amrouche brought in Clifton Miheso, David King’atua and Paul Kiongera to boost his attacking force but Keli who picked his second man-of-the-match award continued to be a menace to Abdulahi’s goal.

The Heroes could have pulled one back in the dying minutes through Salum Omar, but Ochieng was in top form to deny the attacker as Kenya sealed their place in the last eight.

It was not immediately announced when the tossing of the coin would be decided in the immediate aftermath of the game.

The regional showpiece continues on Wednesday with group B matches, where the Kilimanjaro Stars of Tanzania Mainland play The Swallows of Burundi before Somalia take on The Chipolopolo of Zambia at the same venue.