Wasswa freed from Turkish jail

Sep 19, 2011

CRANES defender Hassan Wasswa has been set free. The 23-year-old defender, who was arrested two weeks ago at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport allegedly for drug possession, told the <i>New Vision </i>yesterday that the matter had been resolved and resumed training with his Turkey second division side Er

By Fred Kaweesi

October 8
Nations Cup qualifier
Uganda v Kenya


CRANES defender Hassan Wasswa has been set free. The 23-year-old defender, who was arrested two weeks ago at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport allegedly for drug possession, told the New Vision yesterday that the matter had been resolved and resumed training with his Turkey second division side Erciyesspor.

“My club spoke with the authorities here and I was cleared after medical checks proved my innocence and free of drugs.

“I have now started training with my club and should be available for the game against Kenya,” Wasswa said on phone from Turkey.

The youthful defender however did not explain why he was freed or whether his release followed payment of a fine.

On September 7, Wasswa was reportedly stopped by airport police and was found in possession of marijuana during a routine check before embarking on a domestic flight to Kayseri.

Whether Wasswa will make the trip to Kampala in the right frame of mind is another issue.

All Cranes coach Bobby Williamson will know for now is that the rock-solid defender has pledged to utilize the next three weeks trying to recover his fitness ahead of next month’s qualifier.

The one concern though that soccer governing body FUFA must sort out is the status of player suspensions in the team.

As of yesterday, we were still living in a world of speculation as to whether Andrew Mwesigwa, Nestroy Kizito and Godfrey Walusimbi are suspended or not.

FUFA president Lawrence Mulindwa travels to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) headquarters in Cairo tomorrow to besides attending the annual general meeting crosscheck with the continental body on which players are suspended for the game. “I can at least confirm that midfielder Mudde Musa is suspended,” Mulindwa said.

Who will replace Mudde?
With Mudde, who had originally been included in the team, now confirmed to be suspended, the Cranes technical committee will have to review possible replacements and APR midfielder Johnson Bagoole would be worth considering.

We all know Owen Kasule and Manco Kaweesa’s abilities and for sure none might prove good enough to match Kenya’s star McDonald Mariga.

Mariga is a wonderful box-to-box midfielder, very strong and well built. He is a great athlete, has good technical abilities and good passing. His best attribute is shooting from long distances.

Apart from Tony Mawejje, who will start, Bobby might have to review the Bagoole option if the Cranes are to nullify Mariga.

Same kick-off times
The Confederation of African Football has announced the kick-off times for the final round of 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

A total of 21 matches will take place on the weekend of 08-09 October, with 10 places still up for grabs.

CAF confirmed that each group’s final round of qualifiers will start at the same time.

The move is to ensure that there is competitiveness and fairness in the final round of matches.

Caf sought the preferences from the continent’s various federations before announcing each kick-off time.

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