Uhuru’s order keeps Gor’s Cecafa dream alive
Kenyan representatives to the Cecafa Club Championship Gor Mahia jet out Thutsday afternoon for Dar es Salaam after President Uhuru Kenyatta came to their rescue by paying for their air tickets.
The tickets for the club contingent to the tournament were availed through the Ministry of Sports on Tuesday evening during the club’s fundraiser at the Railway Club in Nairobi, where Sh2.1 million was raised.
Heading to this tournament, Gor will be buoyed by the prospects of performing better than they did last year in Rwanda, where they were tossed out at the group stages after failing to win a single match.
COACH CAUTIOUS
Club head coach Frank Nuttall, however, remained cautious in his assessment of the club’s expectations in Dar, despite leading the Kenyan Premier League by a massive 12-points gap 18 rounds of matches.
“We just want to try to give our best and the priority is to go past the group stages, so it means we have to do well in the early matches,” he said last week.
K’Ogalo have won the regional club accolade on three occasions: 1980, 1981, 1985 and will be making an attempt to add a fourth title to its trophy cabinet in what promises to be a tough outing.
Pooled alongside Tanzanian powerhouse Yanga, Al- Khartoum (Sudan), Telecom (Djibouti) and KMKM of Zanzibar, Nuttall’s men will need to post better results to be guaranteed a place in the last eight.
They begin their campaign on Saturday when they tackle host club Yanga at the 60,000-seater National Stadium in Dar in what is expected to be an explosive contest.
DELIGHT TO WATCH
Gor has made improvements in all departments and its foreign legion led by striker Meddie Kagere and full backs Karim Nizigiyamana and Abouba Sibomana have been a delight to watch.
At the base of midfield, the combative Collins “Gattuso” Okoth and Khalid Aucho, have formed a strong bond. Both picked minor injuries last weekend but are expected to board the plane to Dar.
Off the pitch, it has not been rosy for the club. With no shirt sponsors, K’Ogalo have been operating on a shoe string budget and have heavily relied on fundraisers and good will from the fans and sympathisers.