[ad_1]
The local federation has confirmed that the Afcon qualifier that pits the Harambee Stars against the Islanders will be played at night
The Kenya Football Federation (FKF) has confirmed that the African Cup of Nations qualifying match between the Harambee Stars against the Comoros will be played under the spotlight.
The first round battle scheduled for November 11 will begin at 7pm at Kasarani Stadium and, according to Mwendwa, fans will also not be able to attend the match due to strict Covid-19 protocols established by the government through the Ministry of Health.
“We had planned for the qualifying match to be played at the renovated Nyayo Stadium, but now it will not be the case because the lights are not working, so we have been forced to bring the match to Kasarani,” Mwendwa said. objective on Saturday.
“The match will start at 7pm and will be played under the floodlights, we have already confirmed that the lights in Kasarani are working well, so the match will be played there but under strict Covid-19 rules.”
It will be Kenya’s first match with new coach Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee, who was appointed to take over on Wednesday after the FKF parted ways with former coach Francis Kimanzi by mutual agreement.
Mulee has already revealed the importance of the match, stating that his main goal is to win every home game for a chance to reach the Afcon final.
“It’s not going to be an easy game,” Mulee said. objective. “Most of their players play abroad. It is a difficult game, but seeing what our team has achieved in recent times, it gives me confidence that we can obtain a positive result ”.
Mulee, whose last match as the Harambee Stars coach was in 2010 during the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup held in Tanzania, further explained that his wish is to always see the team participate in the Afcon finals.
“It is good that the Federation has shown confidence in what I can do. I’ve been following the team lately and I see a lot of quality in the team, ”continued Mulee.
“The first task is to qualify for Afcon. In the recent past, our history has been going through the tournament, and then we were out for a long time afterwards, we want to make it a habit that we can qualify for Afcon every two years. “
The 52-year-old strategist also stressed that he will choose his team for the national team on merit, stating: “Talent is talent. It has been difficult for our local players during this Covid-19 pandemic in terms of match fitness, therefore we may have to turn to our foreign players who have been active. But in the end, talent is talent, I will choose my team on merit ”.
Kenya will move into residential training on October 26, first with local players, before the foreign stars start arriving on November 2, before the first match scheduled for the Kasarani Stadium on November 11.
Kenya is currently second in Group G after drawing two draws in its first two matches, 1-1 against Egypt in Cairo and the same score against Togo in Nairobi.
