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| Sports |
| Rostov demand Kanyenda’s return |
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by
Garry Chirwa, 07 June 2004
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19:08:10
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Russian club FC Rostov is demanding the return of its top marksman Essau Kanyenda who has chosen to stay put and be part of the Flames’ squad for Sunday’s Cosafa Castle Cup quarterfinal showdown against Mozambique’s Mambas.
Kanyenda’s locally-based manager Ben Chiwaya said yesterday that he has been getting calls from the Russian club who wanted an assurance that the player would return immediately the World Cup qualifier against Morocco which was played on Saturday.
“I got a call from Rostov’s general manager Mr. A.A. Rooznorv on Saturday who wanted to find out if Kanyenda had confirmed his return flight because he was supposed to connect from Johannesburg to Moscow tonight at 19:45 HRS.
“Mr Rooznorv further said that Kanyenda was supposed to join his team which will be camping in Finland in preparation for the second round of the Russian League.
“I told him that all the arrangements were being made by Fam and I referred him to the association and I don’t know whether they have made any fresh arrangements,” said Chiwaya.
He further explained that the Rostov official phoned him again on Monday morning but he missed the call since he was away in town.
“And just a few hours ago, the club called Kanyenda’s wife to inquire about their player’s whereabouts,” said Chiwaya.
However, Flames’ team manager Stuart Mbolembole said Fam has written a letter to the Russian club requesting for extension of the player’s stint with the Flames.
“We have written a letter and we shall be phoning them later this afternoon and we are hoping for positive results,” said Mbolembole.
The Flames’ team manager also said the three South Africa-based players, defender Patrick ‘General’ Mabedi, midfielder Ernest ‘Wire’ Mtawali and striker Russell Mwafulirwa have since flown back to South Africa.
“We expect Mabedi and Mwafulirwa to rejoin us in Johannesburg on Friday on our way to Maputo but it is doubtful as to whether Ernest will make it because his passport issue is yet to be sorted out,” said Mbolembole.
Meanwhile the Flames’ coaching panel has since recalled defender Wisdom Ndlhovu and striker Albert ‘Kika’ Mpinganjira who joined the Flames on Monday morning.
Caf Champs league draw Tuesday
Garry Chirwa
The Caf Champions League draw will be held on Tuesday at Caf’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
Bakili Bullets, who winged into the league phase after ousting Orlando Pirates on May 29, are one of the eight teams who made it into the last eight, the others are Supersport United (South Africa), Africa Sports (Ivory Coast), Esperance (Tunisia), USM Alger (Algeria), Enyimba (Nigeria), Jeanne d’ Arc (Senegal) and Etoile Sahel (Tunisia).
Bullets’ vice general secretary Ibrahim Patel said on Tuesday that the Bullets will be represented at the draw by their general secretary Ophman Kondowe and vice treasurer Kondi Msungama.
“They left at the weekend and today they were supposed to be briefed about the modalities of the tournament including beaming of the games on television. In fact, part of the US $250,000 (about K27, 250,000) will go towards beaming the games on TV,” said Patel.
The eight teams will be divided into two groups of four teams each and will play on league basis home and away.
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