AMAVUBI Stars head coach Stephen Constantine is not having sleepless nights despite the Confederation of African Football’s decision to ban Rwanda from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations-Morocco. With 2015 Afcon finals out of question, Constantine says he will proceed with preparations for the African Nations Championships (Chan) tournament which will be held in Rwanda in 2016. “I don’t think anyone expected us to qualify to the group stages. The fact that we did is a huge plus and I think we showed Africa and most of the world that Rwandan football is alive. We are on the map for what we have done in the past few months,” Constantine said during the news briefing on Sunday. The Briton, who signed a two-year contract in May, said Caf has taken their decision and it was time to move on. “My target is to build the team for Chan 2016 and that has not changed. People are asking me whether I am staying or not, but to me nothing has changed. We got into the group stages fair and square. We beat two very good sides on the pitch which is where the game should be played and I think we shocked a lot of people in Africa and now we have to move on.” Rwanda featured in the 2011 Chan tournament in Sudan and failed to go past the group stages. On Saturday, following three days of deliberations, Caf rejected an appeal by Rwanda against their disqualification. Rwanda’s failed petition means Congo Brazzaville will compete in Group A of qualifying, alongside defending champions Nigeria, South Africa and Sudan. Rwanda was expelled after beating Congo in the second round, as the latter argued that striker Dady Birori, who played in the first leg, was ineligible because he holds Rwanda and DR Congo passports bearing different names and different dates of birth.
