Gor Mahia raise concerns over Champions League fixture change against Esperance

epa06587280 Joachim Ochieng of Kenyan club Gor Mahia (R) vies for the ball with Yassine Khenissi (L) of Tunisian club Esperance during the CAF Champions League first round match between Gor Mahia and Esperance Tunis, in Machakos, Kenya, 07 March 2018. EPA/DANIEL IRUNGU

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Thursday Mar 15, 2018. 11:30

Kenyan side Gor Mahia have raised concerns over the change of date on their CAF Champions League return match against Tunisian outfit Esperance.

Gor are concerned over what they termed as a deliberate move to jeopardise their preparations for the match that was initially scheduled for this Saturday.

However, the game is now pushed back to Sunday without consulting the Kenyan champions, a move that has hurt their preparations.

With Gor already struggling financially, the change of date means they have to draft a new plan for their travel to Tunis for the return match.

The club’s chief executive officer Lordvick Aduda termed the move as frustrating and expressed his dissatisfaction with the changes.

“We got a communiqué from Football Kenya Federation (FKF) over the postponement of the match,” said Aduda to The Star website.

“We were never consulted or reached directly by either CAF or Esperance and this is a deliberate move to frustrate us.

“If CAF knew playing on Saturday was impossible, they would have communicated to us and CAF in time to allow us adequate preparations.

“Now we have to plan again for a Sunday’s clash which has already disorganised the progress we had made so far in preparations.”

The Kenyans face a daunting task of getting an away win or a high scoring draw which will guarantee them a place in the group stages after 0-0 draw in Nairobi.