Sonko buys air tickets for broke Gor Mahia
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has come to Gor Mahia’s rescue and offered the team 30 air tickets to facilitate their travel to South Africa ahead of Wednesday’s CAF Confederation Cup return match against SuperSport United.
Gor Mahia’s Oganising Secretary Judith Anyango told Nation Sport that the exact number of players to travel is still unknown as some players are yet to receive visas.
“We have received 30 tickets from the governor so we are good to go. Most of the players have received visas while some are still at the embassy trying to get theirs. I believe the team will leave at 8pm this evening,” she said.
TRAVELLING DOCUMENTS
K’Ogalo were forced to postpone their trip to South Africa due to challenges in acquiring documentation for the travelling contingent.
The team was expected to jet out Monday evening for the crucial match but had to cancel owing to late issuance of travelling documents.
A number of key players including striker Jacques Tuyisenge, winger Francis Kahata and Ivorian Ephrem Guikan are yet to get entry permits to South Africa.
Gor Mahia officials are camping at the South African embassy trying to have this sorted.
Wednesday’s match is scheduled for 8pm at the Lucas ‘Masterpieces’ Moripe Stadium in the South African capital of Pretoria.
GROUP STAGE
The winner will gain automatic entry to the tournament’s group stage and will also be entitled to a Sh27 million cash reward from the Confederation of African Football.
The 16-time champions carry a slim 1-0 advantage heading into the match which will be presided over by Gabonese referees Castane Otogo, Montel Moussounda and Theophile Vinga.
Should they finish the job in Pretoria, Gor will be among the 16 teams that will be drawn into four groups of four.
And in the group stage, each group will play on a home-and-away round-robin basis, with the winners and runners-up in each group advancing to the quarter-finals.