Kenya has named their squad for this year's Cecafa Challenge Cup in Uganda and, peculiarly, it was nearly dominated by players of Tanzania club Young Africans of Dar es Salaam.

Yanga, the Tanzania champions and the Mainland representatives in next year's [African club] Champions League, will supply five players to the Harambee Stars, just one less than Mathare United, the newly crowned Kenyan Premier League champions.

Yanga, who already had a number of Kenyan players in their roster last season, have recruited more in readiness for the African challenge next season. They therefore now have five Kenyans who will do duty in the Challenge Cup due in Kampala and Jinja between December 31 and January 13.

Newest Kenyan arrivals at Yanga are Harambee Stars defenders Joseph Shikokoti and John Njoroge who have just decamped Tusker, the club recently dethroned from the Kenyan championship by MathareUnited . The duo joins in Dar es Salaam another Kenyan defender George Owino and strikers Boniface Ambani and Mike Baraza who have received re-call to join the Challenge Cup-bound party.

Another two Kenyan players will be commuting from Tanzania for national duty. The 2008 Kenya season's lead scorer Francis Ouma and teammate Monday Osborne had just left Mathare United to join fresh and ambitious Tanzania league side Azam United.

The Harambee Stars 25-man squad was announced by Francis Kimanzi at a Press briefing in Nairobi, immediately after the coach was appointed to continue training the Kenyan team until the end of next year?s 2010 World Cup/African Nations Cup qualifiers.

Their immediate assignment is to try and win the annual Challenge Cup which the country last won in 2002. A serious Harambee Stars approach in the tournament is expected because the team is likely to embrace the opportunity to boost their morale before the 2010 Cup qualifiers which begin next March. Kenya are in the same pool, Group ?B?, with Nigeria, Tunisia and Mozambique.

Competition is expected to be cut-throat in Uganda. Other Cecafa (Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations) teams through to the last round of the 2010 Cup qualifiers are Rwanda and Challenge Cup defending champions Sudan who are not expected to give an inch for the same reasons as the Kenyans. Hosts, Uganda, narrowly denied qualification to the 2010 Cup qualifiers? final round will also want to make up for it by winning the Challenge Cup.

The Kenyan squad goes into residential training camp at Moi International Sports Centre, Nairobi on Sunday afternoon. They will fly to Yemen on December 26 for an international friendly on December 27. They then fly to Uganda from there.

Kenya squad:

Goalkeepers - 1. Noah Ayuko (Sher Karuturi), 2. Duncan Ochieng' (Mathare United)

Defenders- 3. Joseph Shikokoti (Young Africans, Tanzania), 4. Edgar Ochieng' (Mathare United), 5. Lloyd Wahome (Mathare United), 6. Anthony Kimani (Mathare United), 7. John Njoroge (Young Africans), 8. George Owino (Young Africans), 9. Jockins Atudo (Tusker), 10. James Mulinge (Ulinzi Stars), 11. Christopher Litwsa (Tusker)

Midfielders - 12. Kevin Ochieng' (Mathare United), 13. Monday Osborne (Azam United, Tanzania), 14. Austin Makacha (Mathare United), 15. Mohamed Ali Breik (Bandari), 16. Abdulrazak "Abdi Simba" Alwy (Bandari), 17. Joseph Njuguna (Tusker), 18. Edward Kauka (Sofapaka), 19. Andrew Oyombe (Gor Mahia), 20. Victor Mugabe (Germinal Beerschot FC, Belgium)

Strikers - 21. Francis Ouma (Azam United), 22. Francis Ochieng' (Ulinzi Stars), 23. Patrick Oboya (Siad Most, Czech Republic ), 24. Boniface Ambani (Young Africans), 25. Mike Baraza (Young Africans)