Gor Mahia, Sharks "frustrated" as Caf delays draw announcement

Kenya's representatives in African club competitions, league winners Gor Mahia and domestic cup holders Kariobangi Sharks, will have to wait longer to know their opponents in the preliminary round of the Caf Champions League and the Confederation Cup respectively.

The 2019 African club qualifying draws were made over the weekend in Rabat, Morocco but not released due to a "special situation", the Confederation of African Football (Caf) said Sunday.

While Gor Mahia will be making their fourth appearance in Champions League in the last five years, Sharks will be making their debut in the Confederation Cup after beating Sofapaka 3-2 to win the SportPesa Shield.

K'Ogalo, who narrowly missed out on the Confederation Cup group stages last season, will be returning to the lucrative Champions League after winning a record 17th SportPesa Premier League title with six matches to spare.

According to Gor Mahia CEO Lordvick Aduda, the uncertainty surrounding their preliminary round opponents is a big concern at the club who are determined to reach the group stage of the premier Africa club competition.

"We missed out on the group stages of the Champions League due to naivety. We could have finished off Esperance in Machakos but we wasted a lot of chances. In the away match we lost due to intimidation despite giving a good performance. We learnt a lot from that experience and this time round we had planned for better preparations with the technical bench," revealed Aduda.

"We wanted to play friendlies against elite clubs but without knowing your opponent it is difficult to plan. You need to play against teams from the same region as your opponent because the style of play is similar. The preliminaries are only three weeks away yet we don't know who we are playing. The delay is slowing us down because we are already behind schedule," lamented the experienced football administrator.

Sharks chairman Robert Maoga told Nation Sport that the delay is interfering with their preparations especially logistics given that the upcoming season is a transitional one for Kenyan football.

"It is really frustrating because African club competitions are expensive and we need to know who we will be playing so that we can work on the financial arrangements. We have a short season coming up since we are transitioning to the European calendar and the preliminaries for the Confederation Cup will also be played soon," said Maoga.

"The closer we get without knowing our opponents the more pressure we have on our side. It's good to know our opponents earlier so that we can sort out the travel arrangements and other off the pitch logistics in good time. We want to get at least to the group stages and to do that we must get everything right in the preliminaries," he added.

Youngsters Nixon Omondi and Thomas Teka are the new acquisitions at Sharks that have been included in their Confederation Cup squad. Despite boasting little international experience within his squad, Maoga is confident they will give a good account of themselves.

"We don't fear any opponent, we have a young team that has done very well against local clubs that have played in the continental stage before. It's all about the mindset of the players and the belief to do well," underlined Maoga.

It is believed the "situation" at Caf concerns Moroccan clubs in the Confederation Cup, the second-tier competition below the more lucrative and prestigious Champions League.

Hassania Agadir, by finishing third in the league, and Throne (FA) Cup winners Renaissance Berkane or Wydad Fes have qualified for the 2019 Confederation Cup.

But if Raja Casablanca win the two-leg 2018 Confederation Cup final against V Club of the Democratic Republic of Congo they will also be entitled to a place.

Caf does not permit three clubs from one country in the competitions and, ordinarily, Hassania would drop out to make way for Raja, according to the regulations.

But the 2019 qualifiers involving Hassania and Berkane or Fes begin in November between the first and second legs of the 2018 final, leaving the organisers with a headache.

A Caf statement said the matter would be referred to the emergency committee of the African body for a decision.

This is the last year the Champions League and Confederation Cup will be staged from February to November as they switch to August-to-May seasons from next year.

The transitional 2019 competitions begin on November 27 and end by June 1 next year.

Additional reporting by AFP