By Michael Samson

Awasa make perfect start, heavy weights make poor start

The 2004 Ethiopian premier league champions Awasa Kenema cruised to the top of the table by crushing Nyala FC 5-0. The only side with straight four wins, Awasa Kenema top the table on 12 points. Awasa being a regional club and with less experience, the manner of which it disposed of Nyala took many by surprise.

Newly promoted Shashemene Kenema collected its second premier league point after a surprise goalless home draw against heavy weight Ethiopian Coffee. With two consecutive losses under its belt, no one expected Shashemene to withstand the Coffee onslaught.

One of the most talked about premier league side Electric FC has failed to impress so far with only two wins and two draws. The result, not being a bad one, was seen as dismal though the draws came against minnows - Shashemene Kenema and Air Force FC. Electric recorded an unimpressive 1-0 win over Tikur Abay to further strike fear into the team leaders and fans as well.

Newly appointed St George coach Pinto saw his team being held 1-1 by Banks. The defending champions took the lead seven minutes into first half thanks to a silly mistake from the Banks goalkeeper. Though Saint lined up a full strength squad, Banks dominated the rest of the second half and scored minutes before the end of the second half.

Methara Sugar, under newly appointed head coach Tesfaye Fetene recorded its first away win of the new season beating Harar Brewery 2-0 in Harar. With two wins, one draw and one defeat under his belt, Tesfaye seems to have started the season on the right foot.

Insurance lost 4-1 to Ethiopian Coffee followed by an under performed goal less draw here in Addis Ababa against new comers Tikur Abay Transport. Insurance have so far displayed a poor game and seem ill equiped to withstand the firce attacking games of St George, Coffe, Awas and Coffee.

Awasa Kenema is the only team so far to have a 100% record. Awasa leads the table on 12 points, followed by Ethiopian Coffee, Saint George and Electric with seven points each and St George sitting second on goal difference.

Premier league's second grade coachs

Last week we talked about the Premier League's best coaches and this week we will take a look at the second grade coaches. National team assistant coach Gebremedhin Haile is seen as the one with a bright future of becoming one of the best coaches in the country. Now with Trans Ethiopia for his second stint, Gebremedhin has a chance of steering his team to a good position in the league.

Gebremedhin had previously steered Trans to second place in the premier league, only to move to Banks where he finished a disappointing season. His move to Banks had dimmed the lights for him, and this around, he has to prove that he is not a has been, but a coach with some pedegree.

Ethiopian Coffee's head coach Kifle Boltena is another second grade but popular coach. Taking over as head coach when Seyoum Abate was sacked in mid season, Kifle steered Coffee to second place facing only one defeat on the way.

Though being a Coffee coach means being under constant pressure, Kifle was at ease and has actually promised to build a team that can challenge the premier league and knock out titles.

A failure with Guna Trade and Ethiopian Coffee, Abraham Teklehaimanot performed miracles with Methahara Sugar FC last season's and has now joined the ranks of being a second grade coach who in time could also become one of the best coaches in the country. Though Abraham was expected to build on an already strong team, he went on and joined Muger Cement taking along with him a couple of the team's best players. Abraham's start to the season with Muger is so far unimpressive and many fear that the decision to join Muger Cement could be a costly move in his carrer. Could he move up on the ladder to become one of the country's new generation coaches? Abraham has changed four clubs in as many seasons and that is not a sign of a coach who has high ambitions.

If there is a coach who is well experienced, but has always failed to produce his best, it is former Methara Sugar FC coach Tsegaye Desta. Tsegaye has now been appointed as the head coach of Tikur Abay Transport FC. Tsegaye has over two decades of coaching experience with more than half dozen clubs including Adama Kenema.

Either Tsegaye is so popular amongst premier league clubs or he comes cheaper than any other coach as he always manages to get hired by clubs while names like Seyoum Abate and Kassahun Teka begin fading in the books of history. Tikur Abay Transport, like most regional clubs is not yet financially strong enough to sign big name players, thus Tsegaye has a chance of fielding total unknowns who want to show the soccer loving community who they are or field has beens who want to give it one last go before hanging their boot

FIFA to rob football of its beauty

FIFA plans to pass a regualtion that could force clubs to field at least six players from that country for a game and if this new plan materializes, then managers like Arsene Wenger who travel the extra mile to recruit fresh talents for minimum prices will be the first to hand in their resignations.

The strong and rich European nations who believe that they are the voice of globalization don't seem to have the heart to fight against such an aristrocratic way controlling football. They want world trade to have no boundary and yet allow FIFA to significantly cut the number of foreign players in a team. Didn't many of them lobby for the game to be run like a business in order for it to be come sucessful? Isn't Manchester United a rich football club as well as a big business entity with hundreds of millions in annual turnover? Why are teams like Man United kneeling down to ideas such as this?

Though under heavy financial strain, Wenger has managed to build one of the most entertaining teams in the world, and he did this by signing young players from all over the world. The like of Chelsea and Arsenal do not have more than four or five English players in their squad because English players are not of high quality and at that are very expensive. Arsenal's Ivorian star Kolo Toure was signed for a fee less than a million USD. Do you think he would have cost just as much if he were English? Imagine Cesc Fabregas to be English and think of what he would cost, and don't even think of saying it.

Ferguseon once signed French soccer god Eric Cantona for 1.2 million pounds and every one saw what happened at Old Trafford after Cantona's arrival. Wenger brought French striker Nicholas Anelka for a small fee. What about Peter Schmichael and Thiery Henry. Can you imagine what the transfer money would have looked like if these men were English?

Therefore limiting the foreign players to five in every match would mean a drastic decline in the quality of football and of course a decline in spectators and most of all declines in commercial and TV sponsorship. Where would the money come from then? Do you think the English Premier League became so popular because there were many English players and managers?

If FIFA passes this decision, the English Premier League would suffer the most because it is the league with the highest number of foreign players and also one of the big spenders on big name players.

Henry, Christiano Ronaldo, Michael Essien, Mamo Sissoko, Michael Ballack, Andrie Shevchenko, Arjen Robben, Cesc Fabregas, Claude Makalele, Didier Drogba, Ahmed 'Mido Hossam', Xavi Alonso, Luis Saha and of course Peter Czec are all foreigners but pride of their respective clubs. Without stars like these in their respective jersies, clubs would never be able to display sensational and energetic soccer matches. Stadiums will never be able to attract fans and TV sponsorship deals?

FIFA must take under consideration the crowd's interest first. It is football not passport that must come first. FIFA should rather pressure respective leagues to strengthen their youth academies and try to breed better quality players who could muscle out foreigners from clubs. That is how a solution of not enough natives playing in a club be solved.

If such a soccer proud nation as England can produces players likes Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney once in twenty years, then that is a problem of the English FA and not the FIFA.

Should FIFA pass this decision it will without a doubt be doomsday for soccer and the time for the game to be played in empty stadiums will come.

Haile sponsors athletics team

Legendary athlete Haile Gebreselassie has announced that he would sponsor the Ethiopian half marathon team bound for Lagos , Nigeria .

According to Nigerian newspaper 'This Day' twice Olympic gold medalist Haile will pay for food and lodging for six athletes who will participate in the half marathon event under the theme 'War against AIDS'.

The event which takes place at the end of this month brings together athletes from around the world in order to make the event a big war against HIV/AIDS.

The athletes that are going to represent Ethiopia were selected based on their current performance in the discipline. Yohanes Biffa, Girma Illala and Abiy Tesfamicahel will take part in the men's category, while Yewbit Wubet Tesema, Baset Abraha and Aynadis Adugna will represent their country in the women's category.

Haile said that those selected for the event have remarkable national and international results and he believes they would perform even better in Lagos .

In other developments, the Toyota 2006 Great Ethiopian Run registration ended three weeks ago with the event shceduled to take place on Sunday November 26, 2006. According to the information released by the event organizers, 25000 registration numbers have been sold out with surprising speed.

The event organizers statement shows that 10,000 participants registered in the last week of registration. Those who missed the 5th edition are invited to get ready for the special "Millennium Run."

Algerian Olimpic double gold medalist Hicham El Guerrouj, Swedish Caroline Kluf and Irelands Sonia Sullivan have so far confirmed their participation in the sixth EGR edition.