NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 13 – Record Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League champions Gor Mahia head out to Suez, Egypt on Wednesday morning to start their CAF Confederation Cup campaign with the hope of putting a positive spark to their campaign.
Gor started the FKF Premier League title assault positively with victory over KCB on match day one two weeks ago and it is with this momentum they hope to start their continental campaign with.
The FKF Betway Cup champions face off with Sudanese side Al Ahly Merowe in the second preliminary round, having been given a bye for the first round.
Captain Harun Shakava says the team has prepared well for the game and remains confident they can pick a positive result.
“The last two weeks have been really vital for us to try and put everything into perspective. We have had time to rest and recover as well as enough period to train as a team for this important fixture. I believe that everyone has their focus up and is ready to take on the first match,” the defender said.
Gor have had their fair share of troubles this season.
They will be forced to play the first two rounds of the Confederation Cup with a fairly thin squad. By the time the CAF window for transfers was closing, the Kenyan champions were not able to register new players due to a FIFA transfer ban.
Gor were handed the transfer ban for failing to pay their former coach Steve Polack as well as winger Dickson Ambundo. By the time they were clearing the hefty accrued sums owed to the two, the window was already closed.
But Shakava says they are willing to overlook the challenges ahead of them and pick up positive results.
“It is never easy playing away from home but our focus is to try and get a positive result. A draw or a win will put us in a good position for the first leg. We don’t know much about our opponents but we will go to give a good account of ourselves. They have qualified for the tournament and that means they are not an easy team,” he added.
Merowe are playing in Suez, Egypt, as none of their home venues have been approved to host continental matches by CAF.