Deputy President William Ruto chats with Harambee Stars head coach Sebastien Migne at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani on October 12, 2018. PHOTO/Timothy Olobulu
CAIRO, Egypt, Apr 11 – Harambee Stars head coach Sebastien Migne says he might need to look for another location for their pre-Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) training camp as two other teams have already booked the venue in France they were intending to use.
Migne had travelled to France with Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Nick Mwendwa in late February and identified a camp in Paris, but the French tactician has told Capital Sports that he might now need to look for another option.
“Unfortunately we will be obliged to change because we were late to book the camp. You know the reason; it was difficult to have funds from government and I am a little afraid because I booked the camp but didn’t pay for it,”
“Two teams will be there and I don’t want to share the location with two other teams. We will see after the draw who we will play then we will make a decision,” the tactician stated.
“For now we will be focused on the draw and our opponents as well as the location of our group in Egypt and after that we will look to have the best preparations for this kind of event. We have already wasted time and now every day counts. We can’t waste any more time,”
Sports PS Kirimi Kaberia chats with Harambee Stars head coach Sebastien Migne at the Kasarani Stadium on October 12, 2018. PHOTO/Timothy Olobulu
The Sh244mn budgetary allocation for the national team’s preparations only reflected in federation coffers on Wednesday and it is from here that plans will now be made for the training camp.
First things first was the players to receive their share of Sh38mn of the Sh50mn promised by the government for qualification and the rest will now go into settling debts and making payments for what’s necessary going towards AFCON.
Migne was speaking to Capital Sports in Cairo on the sidelines of a coaches workshop organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) ahead of Friday’s draw.
“It’s always interesting to share something about football with my colleagues from the other countries. We discussed about the experience of Gernot Rohr and Alliou Cissee on the last World Cup and we can feel the atmosphere of the huge tournament in two months. It’s the beginning of the competition now,” stated the tactician.
The draw for the Cup of Nations will be held on Friday next to the iconic Egyptian pyramids in Giza with the ceremony starting at 8pm local time (9pm EAT).
Harambee Stars head coach Sebastien Migne shares a moment with his DR Congo counterpart Florent Ibenge after a coaches’ workshop in Cairo, Egypt on April 11, 2019. PHOTO/Timothy Olobulu
Migne says he is excited ahead of the draw and is eagerly anticipating to know who Kenya will draw in their return to Africa’s premiere football tournament for the first time since 2004.
“Of course we are excited to know which opponent we have and which dates we will start the competition. It’s also important because the professional clubs will release players only 15 days before the first day of competition. It is a huge difference to know whether we start on the 21st or the 24th. A few days more extra in training is always a huge advantage,” the tactician offered.
CAF is expected to release the procedure for the draw later on Thursday evening.
-Timothy Olobulu is reporting from Cairo, Egypt-
