KPL clubs seek mojo across the borders
From left: Gor Mahia secretary-general Ronald Ngala and players Michael Olunga, Jerim Onyango (captain) and Musa Mohammed with the Team of the Year trophy and certificate at the Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year Award (Soya) gala night at Kenyatta International Conference Centre on January 15, 2016. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |
What you need to know:
- K’Ogalo, Bandari prepare for continental tasks
- K’Ogalo play Al Hilal at Port Sudan Stadium on Thursday before returning home for their Caf Champions League date with CNaPS of Madagascar.
Pre-season training has begun for all the 16 Kenyan Premier League teams nearly a month before the new season kicks off.
The December-January transfer window slams shut in under two weeks and three clubs are seeking the right tone abroad.
League champions Gor Mahia left Monday evening for Sudan, where they will play a friendly match against Sudanese Premier League clubs Al Hilal Omdurman and Al Khartoum. The 15-time champions jumpstarted their pre-season training with a friendly in the capital Addis Ababa last week, which they won 5-4 against Ethiopian league champions St George in a post-match penalty shootout.
CAF ASSIGNMENT
K’Ogalo play Al Hilal at Port Sudan Stadium on Thursday before returning home for their Caf Champions League date with CNaPS of Madagascar.
“This year we shall not be the whipping boys of the Champions League,” Gor Mahia secretary-general Ronald Ngala said. “We aspire to go past the group stages of the tournament.
“Winning the league title for the 16th time is also very much in our plans.”
Ten-time league champions Tusker FC kicked off their pre-season training on a less friendly note, losing by a solitary goal to the Niger national team (Menas) when they hosted the Nigeriens at Ruaraka Stadium. Paul Nkata, the new Tusker coach, said they are readying for a temporary residential training camp in Uganda to wrap up the training.
Muhoroni Youth, eyeing another fantastic run after they finished sixth last season, head to Tanzania next month.
“The coming season is supposed to be our best and we must work for it,” Muhoroni coach James “Odijo” Omondi said.
Domestic cup holders Bandari will relocate to Nyayo Stadium next Saturday to acclimatise for their Caf Confederation Cup debut where they face DRC’s St Eloi Lupopo on February 14.
