A financial pledge from Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will help soccer club SC Villa fulfill a CAF Confederation Cup fixture against Fath Union Sport in Rabat, Morocco, today.
The long-serving head of state has promised the cash-strapped Kampala club US$120,000 toward the costs of the round-of-16, two-legged tie.
SC Villa are taking only 16 players, two coaches and three officials to the Moroccan capital for the first leg as they attempt to become the first Ugandan qualifiers for the playoffs. In the previous qualifying round of the secondary African club competition, the Ugandan side slashed costs by making a 25-hour bus and ferry journey to Zanzibar.
Traveling by road from Central Africa to Morocco in the northwest of the continent was not practical, though, and club president Ben Misagga has hailed the assistance of Museveni.
“I thank President Museveni for coming to our rescue with his financial offer,” Misagga told reporters in Kampala. “We are flying the Ugandan flag in Africa. The kindness of the head of state is a massive morale boost and makes us even more determined to achieve a good result in Rabat.”
Seventeen of 56 soccer associations eligible to enter the Confederation Cup this year declined, largely due to financial constraints, and two clubs withdrew after the draw was made.
Debutants SC Villa are the only round-of-16 team boasting a perfect four-match record after home and away wins over Al Khartoum SC of Sudan and JKU of Zanzibar.
Midfielder Godfrey Lwesibawa scored twice and five teammates also contributed to a 7-0 goal record.
After a preliminary round bye, 2010 Confederation Cup winners Fath Union Sport battled to oust modest UMS de Loum of Cameroon 3-2 in aggregate, with Mourad Batna scoring the clincher.
SC Villa coach Ibrahim Kirya is unconcerned that the Rabat club are favored to reach the playoffs, where CAF Champions League round-of-16 losers join the competition.
“We will not tremble at all and I believe my team can achieve a respectable away result,” Kirya said.
Azam of Tanzania and Al-Ahly Shendy of Sudan, the other East African survivors, enjoy home advantage first against Esperance ST of Tunisia and Medeama SC of Ghana respectively.
Ivorian Kipre Tchetche, part of a multinational Azam squad coached by Briton Stewart Hall, scored the only hat-trick of the previous round in a 7-3 triumph over South African side Bidvest Wits.
Esperance also struck seven goals in eliminating Renaissance of Chad and two came from Taha Yassine Khenissi, who is injured and misses the trip to Dar es Salaam.
Al-Ahly Shendy, making a fifth consecutive appearance, should be wary of Abass Mohammed, whose two goals took Medeama past Al-Ittihad of Libya.
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