Akumu rallies Stars to pick up all points at ‘home’ in Kampala

Harambee Stars midfielder Anthony Akumu has rallied the team to win their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group “J” qualifying openers against Zimbabwe and Namibia, reckoning that it will give them the confidence to face giants Cameroon.

Kenya will host Zimbabwe at Mandela National Stadium in Kampala, Uganda tomorrow from 4pm.

Kenya are playing their home match in Kampala since no local venue meets Fifa and CAF standards for hosting international football matches.

Four days later, Namibia will host Kenya at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa from 7 pm (Kenyan time).

Namibia also lacks a stadium that meets Fifa and CAF standards.

Akumu said that even though Zimbabwe and Namibia are tough opponents, Kenya should strive to win the two matches, to increase their morale ahead of their clash with Cameroon in October.

Cameroon’s are the obvious  group favourites.

The Indomitable Lions have  won five Afcon titles featured in the last five editions of the competition.

“It is essential to win because it will give us the confidence and motivation to face Cameroon,” said Akumu, who is one of the senior players in the 25-man squad that coach Engin Firat selected for the two matches.

“We are in a good group, we have good players and with the support we have from everyone, I think if we just improve a little we will qualify for Afcon,” added the midfielder, who plays for Kheybar Khorramabad FC in Iran.

The top two teams in 12 qualifying groups will earn their tickets to the 2025 Afcon in Morocco. Kenya are seeking to qualify for the Afcon finals for the first time since the 2019 edition in Egypt.

Even though Akumu regretted that Kenya will be hosting Zimbabwe in Kampala and not Nairobi, it felt it was not a big deal to the players.

“Of course, it is not something good but it does not matter. We will push ourselves to the best of our abilities,” he said.

Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga remains doubtful for the match. He was yet to link up with Stars in Kampala from his Qatar base.

Without giving details, A-Duhail announced on August 23 that Olunga had picked up an injury. Since then, the 30-year-old, left-footed, towering striker has not featured for the club. 

Even though Firat named him in his 25-man squad for the two crucial matches, he said chances of the captain featuring against Zimbabwe were “very low”.

He was expected to undergo a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to establish the extent of the injury.

Firat has said that since he is missing several key players and they have not prepared adequately for the matches, he will be content if they pick four points out of the maximum six in the two matches.

Zimbabwe under their new German coach Michael Nees arrived in Uganda on Sunday. 

They too have been hit with injuries with forward Tino Kadewere and defender Brendan Galloway being ruled out with hamstring problems.

Meanwhile, Kenya Football Fans Federation (Kefofa) Chief Executive Officer Shem Okottah said yesterday that they are mobilising their members, who can sponsor themselves to travel to Kampala to cheer Harambee Stars.

 He said Kefofa is also in the process of partnering with various sports outlets/restaurants to host watch parties for their members.

“A list of identified locations will be circulated once confirmations with respective managements is done,” said Okottah in a statement.

CAF has appointed Senegalese Adalbert Diouf as the match’s centre referee. 

He will be assisted by his compatriots Amadou Ngom (first assistant referee) and Mamadou Ngom (second assistant referee) while Burkinabe Alioune Sow Sandigui will be the fourth official. 

The match’s commissioner is Ugandan Mike Letti while the referee assessor is Algerian Djamel Haimoudi. 

FKF said tickets will be sold on the match day at Fufa House, Total Kirera, and Total Bweyogerere, all located outside the stadium. 

Regular and VIP tickets will retail at UGSh15,000 (about Sh517) and UGSh50,000 (Sh1,725) respectively.