The Afcon qualifier match pitting the Harambee Stars against the comoros will be played in an empty stadium, in strict compliance to covid-19 protocols. – By Enock Mukoma.
The match, which will be played on November 11 at Kasarani Stadium, will be live on TV.
“Watch us from home as we take on Comoros, back-to-back.
The game will kick off at 19:00 [East African time] and it will be live on TV.
“However, no fans will be allowed, it will be played behind closed doors.”
Previosly the match was scheduled for Nyayo Stadium but was moved to Kasarani due to poor lighting at the refurbished stadia
“We had planned to have the qualifier played at the refurbished Nyayo Stadium but it will not be the case because the lights at the venue are not in order, so we have been forced to push the match to Kasarani,” Mwendwa told the media.
“The match will kick-off at 19:00 and it will be played under floodlights, we have already confirmed the Kasarani lights are working well, so the match will be played there but under strict Covid-19 rules.”
It will be Kenya’s first match under new coach Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee, who was appointed a month ago to take over the team.
Earlier on, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) set guidelines ahead of the resumption of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Afcon qualifiers had been suspended since the outbreak of the coronavirus earlier this year which wreaked havoc across the world.
The last qualifiers were played in November 2019, as the games scheduled for March this year were postponed due to Covid-19.
In the guidelines, Caf revealed that the qualifiers will be played without the fans but also gave an exception to the rule.
“According to Caf’s Covid-19 protocol, all matches must be played behind closed doors, without spectators,” read the Caf statement seen by Uzalendo news.
“However, if the government of the host Association wants spectators to be present, then the Association in question will need to obtain Caf’s approval.
“In the event of exceptional situations other than those mentioned above, the Organizing Committee will be consulted for a final decision.”
Kenya are currently second in Group G after managing two draws from their first two matches, 1-1 against Egypt and the same scoreline against Togo.
