SOMALI FA SLAMS FKF’S CECAFA ‘PEACE PLANS’

Somali FA Secretary General Abdi Qani Said Arab

 

THE Somali Football Federation (SFF) has denied knowledge about the recent public announcement by Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Sam Nyamweya that the forth coming Cecafa senior Challenge Cup will be played under a theme ‘peace for Somalia’.

Somali FA Secretary General Abdi Qani Said Arab said in a press statement seen by Times sport on Wednesday that their Federation was not aware of the arrangements and therefore distanced themselves from such details.

“It came to us as a surprise when we heard in the media, the FKF president Sam Nyamweya announcing a decision of football for peace meeting on Somalia and what he described as ‘peace for Somalia’ theme for the 2013 Cecafa senior challenge cup -that is something which doesn’t concern Somalia and it is confined to the man who said it in the media,” explained Abdi Qani Said Arab.

Abdi Qani is also a member of Cecafa Executive committee and the chairperson of Challenge Cup organizing committee.

His statement further said that whoever was concerned about helping peace in Somalia through football could directly contact Somali Football Federation which is the right body to organize or announce such football for peace initiatives or they could have contacted the regional football governing body Cecafa where Somalia is full member.

“Kenya and Somalia have long-existed cooperative and brotherly relations in both governmental and football and I declare that SFF and FKF had developed major and bilateral co-operations, so I urge the Football Kenya Federation president Sam Nyamweya to justify for the unacceptable speech he told in the Kenyan media in respect to the long-standing ties between us” the statement further reads.

The statement said that Somali Football Federations considers the FKF president’s announcement as an ‘unwanted propaganda’ which has nothing to do with Somali football Federation and the entire people of Somalia.

Meanwhile, the isles national soccer team, Zanzibar Heroes, have started training in preparation for the forthcoming regional tournament to be held in Nairobi, Kenya at the end of this month.

This oldest international soccer competition in the region is expected to officially kick off on November 27 and wind up on December 12, the climax of the Uhuru celebrations in Kenya. Heroes head coach Salum Bausi was pleased with the response of the players to report to the training.

Apart from Kenya, other members expected to participate in the prestigious tournament are defending champions Uganda, Tanzania Mainland, Zanzibar, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia Zambia, Malawi, and Zambia have been invited as was the case in the past few years to be guest teams in the championship.

 

SOMALI FA SLAMS FKF’S CECAFA ‘PEACE PLANS’