Tusker’s French coach Julien Mette is confident that if they play with freedom at home on Sunday, they will carry the day.
The brewers’ quest to qualify for the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup is blocked by Tanzania’s Singida Black Stars, whom they meet in the first leg of the second preliminary round at Nyayo National Stadium, from 3pm.
Match tickets can be obtained online via langopass.com, for Sh200 regular and Sh1,000 VIP.
Rather than burden his players with the fear of conceding at home, Mette wants them to play freely, noting that they have shown they perform at their best when given that freedom.
Tusker FC coach Julien Mette reacts after his team beat Gor Mahia 3-1 to win the FKF Super Cup at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on August 23, 2026.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
“The plan is to play as usual: play to win. We are not thinking about not conceding because if you start to implement that in the mentality of the players, they will be a little scared especially because we don’t have an experienced team. We lack many players with experience in the CAF Champions League or Confederation Cup,” said Mette on Thursday.
“The boys are unbelievable when they play football and they play to win; they pass the ball and enjoy themselves,” added the 44-year-old former coach of Djibouti.
Tusker, who are 12-time Kenyan champions, progressed to the second preliminary round after defeating Sudanese side Al Ahli Wad Madani 3-2 on aggregate last month.
The brewers have been perennial participants in CAF interclub competitions. Their best performance to date came in 1994 when they reached the final of the Africa Cup Winners’ Cup (now Confederation Cup).
Then known as Kenya Breweries, they lost 5-2 on aggregate to DR Congo’s Motema Pembe. Tusker’s last appearance at the continental stage was during the 2021/22 campaign.
They played in the coveted Champions League, bowing out in the second preliminary stage after losing 5-0 on aggregate to Egyptian giants Zamalek.
Following the loss, the “brewers” dropped to the Confederation Cup where they were eliminated after suffering a 1-0 aggregate loss to Tunisian side Club Sportif Sfaxien.
The best performance by a Kenyan club on the continental stage remains the 1987 triumph in the Confederation Cup by Gor Mahia.
Then referred to as the Mandela Cup, Gor clinched the title on away goal rule after drawing 3-3 on aggregate with Tunisian giants Esperance.
Mette said they would be cautious in the match as Singida, though not considered a big team, had a bigger budget than Tusker's.
The home side has only four players with continental experience. They are Congolese goalkeeper Perrauld Ndinga, defenders Aboud Omar, John Otieno and Nigerian striker Victor Mbaoma.
Tusker’s Stephen Odima (left) vies for the ball with Abdelaziz Koda Kafi of Al Ahli Madani during their Caf Confederation Cup preliminary round second leg match at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on September 12, 2026.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
In last year’s competition, clubs that finished third and fourth in their pools were paid $$400,000 (Sh51.79 million).
USM Alger pocketed $2 million (Sh258.9 million) in prize money for winning last season’s Confederation Cup, while Zamalek received $1million (Sh129.48 million) for finishing second.
The teams that advanced from the groups were guaranteed a minimum of $550,000 (Sh71.21 million) each.
Tusker can at least be assured of $100,000 (Sh12.9 million) for playing in the Confed Cup this season.
