Harambee Stars have received a massive blow for will play their last AFCON Qualifiers against Ghana without the services of striker Michael Olunga due to an unfortunate reason, and at same time the Kenya’s Lionesses are also preparing for the Women’s Sevens Series qualifiers.Will they do us proud? Time will tell.
Check out the daily top stories making headlines:
Blow for Harambee Stars as striker is ruled out of Ghana match
Harambee Stars head coach Sebastien Migne will have to do without the services of striker Michael Olunga when they take on Ghana in their penultimate 2019 AFCON Qualifiers slated for Accra on Saturday 23 March.
According to information from the Football Kenya Federation (FKF), the Japanese based striker picked up a hamstring injury in their weekend 1-0 win over Albirex Niigata in which he scored the lone goal; the injury ruling him out of action for three weeks.
In his place, Coach Sébastien Migné has called up Zesco United forward Jesse Were; the striker having missed the initial list much to the amazement of fans.
This comes when the team is set to hit camp on March 17, 2019, in Nairobi, ahead of the Ghana match which is to determine who finishes on top of the group with both teams having already booked their placed in Egypt.
Kenya has, for the first time in 15 years, qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, set to be held in Egypt between June 21, and July 19, 2019. The team is set to pitch a 3-week camp in France ahead of the continental showpiece.
What needs to happen for Gor Mahia to advance to the quarter-Finals? Details here…
Kenyan champions Gor Mahia are three points away from progressing to the quarter-finals of the CAF Confederations Cups despite losing 4-0 to Zamalek in their penultimate group stage match last weekend.
Gor were humiliated by the Egyptian giants on Sunday in Cairo to sink to the bottom of Pool D with six points but the 17-time Kenyan champions will seal a place in the last eight should they beat Petro Atletico of Angola in the final match.
Zamalek, who prior to the match, were pegged at the rock bottom of the group with five points scored twice in either half to avenge their first leg 4-2 loss in Nairobi as well resuscitate their final eight hopes.
Despite the upset in Egypt, K’Ogalo who are set to host Atletico on Sunday at the Moi Stadium, Kasarani will register their name in the last eight should they beat the Angolan side—an outcome which will see them take their tally to nine points.
With the best two teams in each pool guaranteed a place in the quarters, Gor’s loss in Egypt opened the pool as Zamalek lead with eight points while NA Hussein Dey of Algeria and Atletico, who rank second and third, have seven points apiece.
A win at home for Gor will lock out both Atletico and the loser between Hussein and Zamalek. Hussein Dey and Zamalek are set to square it out in Algiers, where the winner will sail to the next round. Zamalek have an upper hand ahead of the match as a draw of any kind is all that they need to proceed.
Gor will be buoyed by the home comfort when they play Atletico in Nairobi and will welcome back the trio of George Odhiambo, Joash Onyango and Shafiq Batambuze to the squad after serving their suspensions for accumulating yellow cards.
Hasan Oktay charges recorded 4-2 and 2-0 home wins against Zamalek and Hussein Dey and will hope to revenge the 2-1 loss suffered in Luanda when the Angolans visit for the final group stage match.
Kenya Lionesses headline Pool B of Women’s Sevens Series qualifiers
Kenya’s Lionesses have been placed in Pool B along side Papua New Guinea, hosts Hong Kong and Uganda Lady Cranes in the 2019 Women’s Sevens Series Qualifiers.
Last year the Lionesses were shut out of the final by South Africa in the sudden death of the semifinal.
“Being pooled with the Host Nation, our neighbors and PNG means we have to bring our A game from the first game throughout our entire pool games. It’s a challenge that both the team and I are looking forward to. We also know that if we want to qualify we have to beat all the other teams we will face and that’s what we have to focus on, A game at a time in the process.” said Head Coach, Kevin Wambua.
The 12 team tournament will be held on the 4th and 5th of April.
Hong Kong Women’s Sevens Series Qualifiers’ Pools
Pool A: Japan, Belgium, Scotland, Mexico
Pool B: Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Uganda
Pool C: Brazil, Argentina, Kazakhstan, Poland
AFC Leopards Celebrate 55th Birthday in Style
Kenya Premier League Club AFC Leopards turns 55. The Club has enjoyed some great success over the years and despite facing a few challenges in the recent past, it still remains one of the most successful Football Clubs in Kenyan History.
ABOUT AFC LEOPARDS
Abaluhya Football Club Leopards Sports Club, officially abbreviated as A.F.C. Leopards and also commonly known as Ingwe (Luhya for Leopards), is a Kenyan association football club based in Nairobi.
It currently competes in the Kenyan Premier League, the top tier of the Kenyan football league system, and was founded in 1964.
With 13 top-flight league titles to their name, AFC Leopards is Kenya’s second most successful club behind Gor Mahia (17 titles), with whom they regularly contest the Mashemeji Derby.
The team currently plays its home games at the Nyayo National Stadium.
What really made Zinedine Zidane return to Real Marid, Is he going to deliver and bring in the changes?
The return of Zinedine Zidane to Real Madrid brings a ray of light to the team which flourished during his stay at the club constituting of loads awards which is seen as the reason as to why he is back at the club.
He couldn’t say “no” to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, revealed Zinedine Zidane after the football great made a surprise return to coach the club less than a year after leaving the Spanish giants in the wake of one of its great European successes.
The 46-year-old Frenchman led Real to three consecutive Champions League trophies during his first spell in charge at the Bernabeu, but then stepped down in May 2018.
Zidane replaces former teammate Santiago Solari, who was promoted to the role of Real coach after Julen Lopetegui was dismissed following a poor run of form in October.
“Real Madrid appreciates the work done by Santiago Solari and the commitment and loyalty he has always shown to this house,” said a Real Madrid statement on Monday.”
The Board of Directors has also agreed the appointment of Zinedine Zidane as the new coach of Real Madrid with immediate incorporation for the remainder of the season and the next three, until June 30, 2022.”Zidane was already a Real legend thanks to an illustrious five-year-period as a player at the club between 2001 and 2006.
He took over as Real Madrid coach in January 2016 and made a near immediate impact, winning the Champions League later that season.Two more European titles followed before he abruptly left in May 2018, a matter of days after securing the hat-trick of Champions League titles as Real defeated Liverpool in Kiev.
No team had won three Champions League or European Cups in succession since Bayern Munich between 1973 and 1975.Upon announcing his departure, Zidane said the team needed “a change after three years, another voice, another method of working.”
Zidane’s return follows Real’s exit from this season’s Champions League at the last-16 stage, where the Spanish side lost to Ajax. Spanish newspaper Marca labeled that defeat as the “failure of the century.”Speaking at a press conference to confirm his reappointment, the Frenchman admitted that long-term changes would be necessary.
“We’re going to change things and we’ll have to do that for next season,” Zidane said. “We’ve got the time to do what we need to do at the club, but we’ve now got 11 games to go and we want to finish on a high.”I’ve followed the whole season and I think that the players are the first ones to admit that it’s been a difficult year but you can’t always win.
That’s the way things go in football and sometimes you have to accept change.”Sometimes you go through rough patches and that’s what’s happening at the moment. It’s been tough to watch from afar but I want to be amongst the players, continue to work hard and make us competitive again.”
Official: Gareth Bale to train at Manchester United next week
Gareth Bale is set to use Manchester United’s training facility ahead of the international break. The Real Madrid winger has been included in Ryan Giggs’ 31-man squad for the upcoming fixtures against Trinidad & Tobago and Slovakia later this month.
Wales will be facing the former in an international friendly match at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground on March 20 and are set to prepare for the match with training at United’s Carrington training complex.
The Football Association of Wales are currently constructing a new National Football Development Centre in Wrexham, but it is not due to be finished until May, which means alternative facilities have had to be arranged.
It means Bale is set to train at the United training ground as speculation continues to mount surrounding his long-term future at Real Madrid following Zinedine Zidane’s return as first-team manager.
The 29-year-old has been a United target in the past and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is believed to be a big fan of his.
In fact, United even offered a higher transfer fee than Real Madrid for the signature of the Wales international when he departed Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2013, but the player had his heart set on a move to the Spanish capital.