Kariobangi residents relish chance to watch Toffees
Kariobangi Sharks midfielder Duke Abuya (centre) attends a training session with teammates Harrison Mwendwa (left) and Erick Juma on July 5, 2019 at Jamhuri High School ahead of their friendly match against English Premier League side Everton on July 7. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |
What you need to know:
- The chartered flight carrying the Toffees is expected to touch down at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 8am, and the team will get a chance to feel the Kasarani stadium pitch later Saturday afternoon.
- They will leave immediately after Sunday’s match.
Everton are expected in the country early today morning aboard a chartered flight that will ferry them back to England immediately after Sunday’s match.
The chartered flight carrying the Toffees is expected to touch down at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 8am, and the team will get a chance to feel the Kasarani stadium pitch later Saturday afternoon. They will leave immediately after Sunday’s match.
It is still unclear whether the team will field its first string side, or give its young players from the developmental side a chance to play.
However, the match has become a major talking point within Kariobangi, Kenya’s low-cost housing area from where Kariobangi Sharks draws most of its support.
Nelson Mandela, a 33-year-old business man residing in Kariobangi, says that he hopes the EPL side fields some of their renowned players such as Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane and Lucas Digne.
“It is a good thing that they are coming. I watched the match between Hull City and Gor Mahia and it was very exciting. It is good for our players to compete with others from England so that they can get to know how far behind they are, and what needs to be done to close the gap,” he said.
Tomorrow’s game against Kariobangi Sharks marks Everton’s second visit to East Africa.
The team travelled to Tanzania in July 2017 to face inaugural SportPesa Super Cup winners Gor Mahia FC in a game the Toffees won 2-1, the first time a Premier League club had visited east Africa.
In November 2018, Kenya’s Gor Mahia FC travelled to Goodison Park, the first occasion an east African club side has played a Premier League club in the UK.
Yesterday, Kariobangi Sharks revealed that they will be donning their new Umbro kits in that match.
This comes just a day after Everton announced similar plans to launch their new 209-2020 kits made by the same manufacturer.
Tickets for the match are already on sale, with regular tickets going for Sh100 at various retailing booths and VIP tickets retailing at Sh1,000 at mookh.com.
A total of 55,000 regular tickets have been printed, and these will be sold in numerous outlets across Nairobi.
