Rwanda, ravished by internal conflict in the past, has pulled all the stops to ensure as Local Organizing Committee president Jean Bosco Kazoora says we win friends and change the perception of our country as one of trouble and genocide.
Rwanda will use two stadiums in the capital for the tournament, the Kigali National Stadium and the Regional Stadium.
The host will play their games at the National Stadium while the Regional stadium will host games involving South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Egypt.
The line-up at this competition suggests it will be as tough as it gets. Ghana has two titles at this level and is desperate for a third.
Cameroon has been a tough customer at every level, while Mali built their present good reputation on the back of some outstanding talent who came through from the 1999 U-20 side.
Nigeria is many people’s favorites to win, primarily because they have come with a side that triumphed at the world U-17 level.
Yet the fact that this also serves as qualifiers for the 2009 World Youth Championships that Egypt is hosting in September means the objective for many teams here is simply to reach the semifinals and book a place.
“Our first priority is to reach the World Cup,” Ghana coach Sellas Tetteh says. “After that then we can think of winning, but if we can reach the world event the tournament would have been a success.”
Egypt coach Miroslaw Soukup is also not so bothered about winning. The Czech does not need to bother about reaching the world event but says the Rwanda tournament will be a wonderful platform for his side to be up and ready when they play host to the world in September.
“We need to play a lot of strong matches here to know how ready we are. It is a very important tournament. My players need to play the hard matches with very good opponents. Our priority is not winning, but we will be seeking to do well,” Soukup told KickOffGhana.com.
“One country, though, has their sights fixed squarely on winning. We have the expectation to win and think we can,” Kazoora said. “But for us, the biggest expectation is to win the friendship and brotherhood of those who will be coming to this beautiful country.”
