Ethiopia’s meticulous rise as East Africa’s leading football nation came to a head last weekend when they qualified for the final phase of Africa’s qualification campaign for Brazil FIFA World Cup 2014.

Read more: http://www.soccerreport.com/ethiopia-redeems-east-african-football/

Soccer Report2: Ethiopia’s meticulous rise as East Africa’s leading football nation came to a head last weekend when they qualified for the final phase of Africa’s qualification campaign for Brazil FIFA World Cup 2014.

They are East Africa’s best chance to finally have a representative at a FIFA World Cup tournament. While West Africa is proud to have all their big guns in a row for the play offs, East Africa is still in a trance.

What happened to Uganda, Kenya and Sudan? Where did Ethiopia even come from? For the past decade, Ethiopia has been the punching bag in the oldest regional tournament in Africa – CECAFA – which brings together Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Zanzibar.

While Uganda, the record champions, have always put their best efforts to win the tournament, Ethiopia and Sudan have historically instead opted to use the time as a breeding ground for talent and development.

Poor results not withstanding, their firm philosophy of technical football, compounded with an emphasis on passing and possession, won them plenty of admirers in the region. It’s a distinct and attractive brand of football that is distinctive in the region and has been their only claim to fame until they qualified for this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, ultimately won by Nigeria in South Africa.

With hardly any outstanding player of repute on the continent, Ethiopia has used its domestic league and various continental competitions for all age groups to construct and hone its identity.

Borrowing an Egyptian strategy, they have encouraged their best talent not to seek professional careers outside Ethiopia but instead acclimatize to the African football culture and environment.

While some of their leading clubs like St. George have spent a small fortune importing players to help them compete at continental level, as a nation they have not strayed from their strategic vision. They have now started to reap the benefits.

Over the last 15 years, Rwanda, Kenya and Sudan have done well to break the jinx, qualifying for the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations. However, record CECAFA champions Uganda have been absent from the elite tournament for 35 years even when they are practically unbeatable in the region.

The Ugandans, Tanzanians and Kenyans must wonder what it is they are doing wrong. Incidentally, these are the nations that have ignored grass roots football over the years and paid little attention to developing youth football.

Uganda and Kenya have also persisted in fighting football wars off the pitch, which has led to instability within the administration, player community, clubs and national teams.

The alarming thing about Ethiopia however is that no one can quite put a finger on exactly what threat they possess, except that they play one of the most exiting brands of football on the continent.

Cameroon, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Algeria will not relish a draw that pits them against the Ethiopians. They have become a dangerous prospect.

Read more: http://www.soccerreport.com/ethiopia-redeems-east-african-football/

lool! See their swollen fore-heads nawaaa ooh

they can pitch them with them super eagles we will beat them like we did in the nations cup