Ethiopian Football Federation named former national team player Yosef Tesfaye in charge of the national U-20 team preparing for “The Peace and Friendship” tournament to be held in the host Country Asmara, capital of Eritrea. The tournament brings together Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Djibouti.
Yosef secured the responsibility of building a strong U-20 squad in so short time for the tournament that is set to take place in five weeks time. The former Ethiopia Bunna, Hawassa, Mugher Cement and Kidus Giorgis midfielder had been busy Coaching Ethiopia Bunna’s U-20 for the last three years. “He is the man behind Ethiopia Bunna’s youth scheme where young talents get a chance to bloom. It would have been better to have an experienced coach for the team but if it is supposed to be from youth team coaches, Yosef is the ideal coach” an unnamed senior Coach suggested.
Yosef has assigned his back room staffs on Thursday including Berhanu Worku, Hawassa’s U-17 coach for his assistant and Wolayta Dicha’s goal keeping coach Zelalem Matewos.
The former Hawassa, Dire Dawa and Sebeta City defender Berhanu has been with Hawassa’s youth side for the past three years and enable to produce considerable number of talents and feeding the senior teams all over Southern region.
The responsibility of producing a competitive goal keeper for the team falls on the shoulder of former Wolayta Tusa, Halaba City, Pepsi, Hawassa and Wolayta Dicha goal keeper Zelalem Matewos.
Yosef Tesfaye appointed U-20 Coach, named his assistants
Huge transfer spending for Sehul, Dedebit
The mid season transfer window was meant to be about strengthening one’s squad to be better equipped for the second round. Signing two or three players is what is common in world football. But when it comes to bottom of the table Sehul Shere and Dedebit it is just like a pre season building a side from a scratch.
Just six months in to their debut season at the Premier League; bottom of the table Sehul-Shere was the busiest side in the league, as they signed new players. Records show that in addition to appointing a Coach, Sehul, transferred nine players including three foreigners. Struggling to survive yet starting the decisive second round from the scratch is a bizarre situation for a team determined to live on. Samson who was in semi retirement needs some time to adjust and know each of the players before rolling to team building. The rebuild and actual games are coming together therefore saving Sehul is likely to be very difficult. Of course considering the short duration so far in the transfer window the new Coach seems to have no say in the transfer of the foreign players. Can Samson harness these foreign professionals signed before his arrival? Samson’s debut away match against Wolayta Dicha ended in a draw and that seems a good omen.
Dedebit’s campaign took everyone by surprise for the club suddenly appeared to get a windfal therefore hugely participating in the transfer market. No more talk about financial constraint thus it all started by appointing Coach Daniel Tsehaye the Coach responsible for Sehul’s poor result. Though Daniel is unlikely to be part of the transfer of the three foreign players, he took in to his wings seven local players including veteran mid fielder Mulualem Regasa. Critics raise the question whether the transfer is about the good money behind or the club’s survival. A striker from Ghana, a mid fielder from Equatorial Guinea and a Nigerian defender, survival appears a must not an option to Dedebit.
Hossana; in pole position to Premier League promotion
Hadiya-Hossana’s return to the Premier League appears eminent following an impressive Super League first round result. Hadiya tops the eleven side Group “B” table five points clear of regional rival Arbaminch. Bishoftu-Automotive and Butajirra are likely to go down at the end of the season.
Sporting seven wins, three draws and a single defeat all through the first round, Coach Girma Tadesse has become the messiah leading Hossana back in to the dream top tier for the second time. Girma is among the Coaches famous for Super League promotion Mekonen G/Yohannes and Dereje Belay currently are with Addis Ababa Town and Wolkite Town respectively.
Seven wins, three draws and a single defeat all the way through the first round Hossana is in full command of group “B” with 24 points where as former Premier League side Arbaminch Town is second five points behind. Led by the league’s leading scorers’ Kenyan Eric Muranda of Hossana and Sentayehu Mengestu of Arbaminch each with six goals, promotion is highly speculated to be decided at the very final stage of the season. “It is up to Hossana to lose promotion for five points means a huge head start in an eleven match second round campaign” Mola Haregu remarked.
Though the two sides are considered serious contenders Selte-Worabe and Nekemt Town are trailing close behind second place Arbaminch. Five wins, three draws and three defeats Selte is third with 18 while Nekemt sits fourth two points behind. “Hosana and Arbaminch both have the experience as well the logistics to battle out the hard season,” a rival coach stated.
NAHOO Sport declares incumbent EFF cabinet worst ever
The incumbent Ethiopian Football Federation’s executive body is the worst ever cabinet to lead the country’s football according to NAHOO TV Sport talk show anchorman Ashenafi Zelele. “I have never come across such a do-nothing EFF governing body,” Ashenafi remarked in his show.
Lack of transparency and unnecessary spending for procuring a building, little or no effort to fix a sponsorship deal, a controversial deal with Sport Kits producing company UMBRO, a 15,000 birr per day car rental for EFF President Ato Essayas Jirra, a shocking 26 occasions of back and forth travel out of the country in the name of Ethiopian Football, are of the few sins mentioned by Ashenafi and his colleagues on the show.
“Why is a federation that boasts an empty coffer and cancels international fixtures for lack of funding in such haste to procure a 95 Million Birr building,” asked one of the talk show participants while the other enquired if the frequent travel profited Ethiopian Football.
The press conference given by Ato Essayas and his vice Colonel Awol Abdulrakim was also mentioned in the show where the couple gave a statement focused on illustrating how a profitable contract was signed with UMBRO. It is 420 national jerseys a year free of charge with UMBRO to benefit from shirts to be on sale for tens of millions of Ethiopian Football fans. The President and his Vice President were steeping the issue questionably, after all EREA Sport got away with a USD one million, claim despite supplying inferior quality shirts. How, they asked, did UMBRO come into the picture before the dispute was settled. EFF Executive Ato Yosef Tesfaye was also mentioned as the person who approached the federation in the name of UMBRO, the very company that gave the local distribution rights to Josambin Sport owned by Ato Tesfaye. The USD one million, deal appeared to be washed, dried and ironed among the country’s football governing body.
Nahoo Sport stated that all credit went to Walya Birra’s sponsorship deal, to the former EFF President Juneidin Basha yet Issayas and his cabinet were unlikely to find a new source of finance. A huge future development plan without financial resources means nothing other than report consumption.
The new deal with UMBRO seems to blindfold the public. Over two million jerseys were sold out to Ethiopian Football fans at the South African Cup final where Ethiopia returned to the stage after three decades of absence. What a mouth watering deal any one in business would jump into with no life belt.
