Kagame Cup kicks off

Former Mainland champions Simba host visiting Burundi’s Vital’O in a Kagame Cup championship opening day one second match at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam today.

The Simba-Vital’O clash will be preceded by the tournament opener between Zanzibar Ocean View and Etincelles of Rwanda in a Group A tie.

The fifth team in the Group A, Red Sea of Eritrea will be on the sidelines while assessing the degree of competence of the other four group mates.

The first match kicks off at 14:00 hours and the second for the day follows two hours later at the same venue.

There will be no match at the Jamhuri Stadium in Morogoro for today.

While Simba have won the title seven times, including the inaugural crown at a nearby Uhuru Stadium in 1974, Vital’O are still chasing their first title despite several appearances in the event.

After elimination from the continental leagues, Simba need to console their fans through bright start to heal off the wounds.

Simba’s coach Moses Basena, who has less than six months to prove his worth before the leadership, has a huge burden at his shoulders to lead the club into glory.

Fans are expected to flock into the stadium as they will be eagerly in need to see how their new outfit performs ahead of the Mainland premiership later in August.

Not much is known of the visitors but they are not expected to kick off the game heads down.

The first match would see former Zanzibar champions battle it out to earn points in their maiden appearance of the Kagame Cup.

The Rwanda side is also a new side in the event and few know of its prowess as fans would be keeping their eyes open to follow the action as it unfolds.

The fixtures adjustment as per the Tanzania Football Federation show that Young Africans who has just come out of suspension from the event take on three times winners El-Merreikh of Sudan at the same venue tomorrow.

The Group B match will be crowd puller basing on the rivalry of the teams as fans would recall the 1986 final that saw Yanga lose the title at home through poor penalty shootouts.

Holders APR will also kick off their title retention campaign as they face Port of Djibouti at the Jamhuri Stadium in Morogoro tomorrow.

A total of thirteen teams are competing in the championship whose prize package hits at $60,000 courtesy of Rwanda President Paul Kagame.

The winners of the event are entitled to the top prize of $30,000 as the losing finalists would settle for half of the amount.

Third placed side has $10,000 to take home.