THE 33rd Orange Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup kicks-off today with one match on the menu pitting hosts Harambee Stars against African Nations Cup-bound Chipolopolo of Zambia in Nairobi.
The curtain-raiser takes place at Nairobi's Nyayo National Stadium, which will also host both semi-finals and the final of the two-week tournament.
Tanzania Mainland's Kilimanjaro Stars have been sidelined until tomorrow when they take on defending champions Uganda Cranes, in a Group C match in Kenya's western town of Mumias.
Tomorrow's showdown will be preceded by another Group C game between Zanzibar Heroes and Burundi's Intamba Murugamba.
Kilimanjaro Stars, who last won the regional title in 1994, have been in Mumias since yesterday, undergoing light training for the Group C matches.
Coach Marcio Maximo will be hoping to appease disgruntled fans when he leads the Mainland team into the pool rated as a 'group of death,' especially tomorrow's game against Uganda Cranes.
On paper, Uganda Cranes, with an impressive record of 10 regional titles, seem to have an edge over Maximo's team.
But the Brazilian told THISDAY over the phone from Mumias that he was not afraid of the Ugandans.
“Our intention is not only to overcome Uganda, but also win all our Group C matches and qualify for the next stage of the tournament,” he said.
His Uganda Cranes counterpart Bobby Williamson was quoted as saying from Kampala yesterday that preserving an impressive record of 10 titles was as important as reaching the latter stages of the championship.
“It’s going to be tough because we are champions and everyone expects us to do well,” Williamson said.
Uganda Cranes won a record 10th regional title in January last year, exhibiting lots of attacking intent.
And the Scot has not broken from that as most of the team’s emphasis has greatly concentrated on enhancing players’ passing ability in tight areas.
While Group C consists of Tanzania Mainland, Zanzibar, Uganda and Burundi, Group A is made up of hosts Kenya, Zambia, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Eritrea and Somalia constitute Group B, according to the fixture released recently by the Council of East and Central African Football Associations (Cecafa).