Gor Mahia, Tusker may have to play CAF games outside Kenya

by Graeme Jackson

Sunday Oct 31, 2021. 12:00

Kenyan clubs Gor Mahia and Tusker may be forced to play the home legs of their CAF Confederation Cup playoff ties outside of their country.

This after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) declared the Nyayo National Stadium unfit to host continental matches. It joins the Moi International Sports Stadium on the banned list.

“Kindly note that in accordance with the CAF Stadium inspection and approval procedure, a final stadium approval by CAF will only be granted if the points raised are correctly resolved in the coming period and a new CAF inspection confirms this,” CAF in a letter to Football Kenya Federation dated October 17, as quoted by Nation.

“Upon conclusion of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 matchday 5 and 6, the stadium will only be approved for any subsequent CAF international senior national teams matches and other CAF men’s interclubs competitions subject to the implementation of all the CAF remarks.”

This pertains to a poor playing surface and lack of a media tribunal at Moi International, while Nyayo National lacks a media tribunal and floodlights.

This declaration leaves Gor Mahia and Tusker scrambling to find suitable venues for their Confed Cup ties.

Tusker are scheduled to host CS Sfaxien of Tunisia in the first leg of their clash on the weekend of 28 November, while Gor Mahia will welcome AS Otoho of Congo for the second leg on the weekend of 5 December.

Gor Mahia have not yet had to host a match in the CAFCC this season, as they were exempt from the first qualifying round as one of the seeded teams and did not need to host Al-Ahly Merowe for the second leg of their second round tie, as the Sudanese team withdrew after a 3-1 defeat in the first leg.

Tukser, meanwhile, used the Nyayo National Stadium for the home legs of their CAF Champions League ties against Arta-Solar7 of Djibouti (4-1 aggregate win) and Egyptian giants Zamalek (5-0 aggregate loss), but this will no longer be an option available to them after the CAF ban.