CAIRO, Egypt, Jun 19 – National football team Harambee Stars touched down in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo on Tuesday night, just under three days before the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) officially kicks off.
The team travelled to Cairo straight from their training base in Marcoussis, France and headed to their team hotel just a few metres from the June 30 Stadium where they will play their Group C matches.
They were received at the airport by Kenyan ambassador to Egypt by Maj. Gen (Rtd) Joff Makowenga and officials from the embassy before they headed to have their rest at the hotel. Theyjetted in to Cairo a few minutes after 9pm (10pm EAT).
“I am so excited to be here today to receive the national team and it is such a joy to be here for the first time in 15 years. As an embassy we are ready to give the team whatever they need to make their stay in Cairo as comfortable as possible,”
“We heard they were missing ugali and I want to promise them we will try to provide for them some Kenyan food. We will cheer them on and hopefully they do well,” the retired Kenya Air Force Major General told Capital Sport.
The team was also received at the airport by a handful of Kenyans living in Egypt who cheered the players on as they got into their team bus.
“We have a huge community of fans here and whenever a Kenyan team comes here, we are always there cheering. When Gor Mahia was playing in Alexandria, we drove all the way to support them. We will be in the stadium everyday and hopefully they do us proud,” one of the fans at the airport stated.
Head coach Sebastien Migne now says the real work begins and is confident his team is ready.
“We are here now, the reality is upon us and we have to work. There is no time to waste, we have to get down to work immediately,” the tactician said as he hurried everyone into the bus to go shake off some of their jet lag.
Kenya begins its campaign on Sunday, playing their first match against Algeria’s Deert Foxes at 10pm (11pm EAT).
They will then play Tanzania in the East Africa derby four days later before finishing their group assignments against Senegal on July 1.
If Kenya finishes among the top two or is one of the four best number three teams, they will play in the round of 16.