Rising Stars to hold residential camp in Morocco ahead of continental tourney
Kenya is in a tough group consisting Nigeria, Tunisia and Morocco in what analysts predict is the “Group of Death”
President William Ruto has expressed optimism that national under-20 football team, the Rising Stars, would go all the way in the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations Championship in Egypt that will take place between April 27-May 18.
Ruto, who flagged off the team at State House Nairobi earlier today, promised to travel to the land of the Pharaohs to cheer the boys if they made it to the finals. He presented the national flag to head coach Salim Babu and assistant captain Baron Ochieng at the event which was attended by the squad and technical bench plus members of the Football Kenya Federation.
The team leaves for a 10 day residential pre-tournament camp in Morocco tomorrow ahead of the showpiece. Kenya is in a tough group consisting Nigeria, Tunisia and Morocco in what analysts predict is the “Group of Death”.
However, team assistant skipper Baron Ochieng said they remain unshaken and are fully prepared for the challenge.
“Player confidence is growing steadily. With the new draw out, we remain unshaken. Even if we hadn’t faced these teams in the group stages, we were bound to meet them in the quarterfinals or semifinals. We are fully prepared and ready for the challenge,” stated the Sofapaka FC Right-back player.
The youngster also rubbished concerns about weather up in North Africa. “With our pre-camp scheduled in Morocco which shares a similar climate with Egypt we expect the team to adjust within two or three days and hit the ground running,” he said. He also vowed to help in the leadership department of the team stating it was all about “national pride”!
Coach Babu has assembled a 25-man squad to be captained by Spain-based Amos Wanjala as they ready to do duty for the badge. Some of the star names in the squad include Spanish based duo Aldrine Kibet and Amos Wangaya alongside Luis Ingavi and Stanley Wilson based in Sweden. AFC Leopards duo of Kelly Madada and Hassan Beja alongside Gor Mahia FC youthful attacker Mark Shaban has also made the cut.
The 13 teams will be split into three pools, Group A with five teams, and Groups B and C with four. The top two nations in each pool advance to the quarter-finals, along with the two best third-placed sides.
The new draw was done in Cairo by CAF Sunday after the previous hosts Ivory Coast pulled out of hosting rights barely a month to the tournament. Originally, Kenya had been placed in Group C alongside title holders Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Zambia.
