A 17-player strong Gor Mahia were scheduled to fly out of Nairobi Wednesday morning for Suez, Egypt for their Caf Confederation Cup second round, first leg match against Ahly Merowe of Sudan.
The Sudanese club host K’Ogalo on Friday from 8pm at the New Suez Stadium behind closed doors due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Merowe opted for the game to be played in Egypt as it lacks a Caf-approved stadium to host continental matches.
K’Ogalo have been forced to travel with only 17 players since their new acquisitions are not allowed to feature in the match as they had not been registered by club for the tournament.
This is because Gor were hit by Fifa ban from registering new players over a debt owed to their former British coach Steven Polack and Tanzanian winger Dickson Ambudo.
The club did settle this debts but were not cleared by Fifa to start new player registrations as they have also yet to pay Ghanaian Jackson Owusu over Sh3 million in wage dues.
While K’Ogalo got a bye for the first round, which was played last month, Ahly Merowe qualified for this stage after edging out Atlabara of South Sudan 4-0 on aggregate.
Gor Mahia Sporting Director Lordvick Aduda, who is part of the travelling team, told Nation Sport that, unlike the past when they travelled on the same day or a day to the match due to financial constraints, this time round they acquired enough tickets in time and were all set to benefit from two day of acclimatisation.
“We have our players ready for the match and hope for the best in the game,” said Aduda.
The team will board a 7am direct flight to Cairo from where they will make an anticipated one-hour road trip to Suez. The town is 134 km away from Cairo.
Gor are expected to have a feel of the match venue on Thursday.
Despite the depleted squad, Gor Mahia’s 60-year-old British tactician Mark Harisson this week said he was confident of getting a positive result in Egypt.
Last season Gor participated in the CAF Champions League bowing in out in the first round after an 8-1 aggregate thumping at the hands of CR Belouizdad of Algeria.
The 19-time Kenya champions were then relegated to the Confederation Cup where they were knocked out of the pre-group stage 3-2 on aggregate by Napsa Stars of Zambia.
Squad
Goalkeepers
Gad Mathews, Caleb Omondi
Defenders
Philemon Otieno, Joachim Oluoch, Frank Odhiambo, Harun Shakava, Fred Nkata
Midfielders
Ernest Wendo, Junior Nyawira, John Ochieng, Alpha Onyango, John Macharia, Sydney Ochieng’, Victor Ayugi
Strikers
Benson Omala, Samuel Onyango, Jules Ulimwengu