Ethiopia national team returns home to warm welcome

Addis Ababa – The Ethiopian national football team, which finished fourth in the recently concluded CECAFA Challenge Cup, has returned home to a warm welcome.

The team was greeted at the airport by the executive committee members of Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) and various clubs’ officials.

Talking to reporters on the team’s arrival at the Bole International Airport, head coach Iffy Onuora summarized the team’s journey to CECAFA Cup by saying: “Although we didn’t achieve the desired goal because of the heat wave and the compact schedule that we played under, we had a wonderful time in Dar es Salaam and it was a good learning experience for my players”.

Team’s captain Samson Mulugetta of Saint George FC said that the players were determined to win and praised the support the team received from Tanzania fans. Tournament’s star players and goal scorers Shimelis Bekele of Hawassa City and Oumed Oukri of Defence Force also noted that they had a wonderful time in Tanzania, and should now focus on the qualifying rounds of the Africa Nations Cup.

Debutant Goalkeeper Jemal Tassew of Dedebit FC pointed out that the tournament was a good learning experience for him.