Kenya’s representatives to this year’s CAF Confederation Cup, Gor Mahia, will have to do with a venue change for their first leg clash against Sudanese opposition Al Ahly Merowe who they are scheduled to face next week on Friday October 15 in the second preliminary round of the continental tournament.Earlier, the record Kenyan champions were supposed to travel away to Sudan for the away clash but latest confirmation from the club indicated that the venue for the match had been moved to Egypt instead.Sudanese 🇸🇩 clubs @ElmerreikhSC and Al Ahly Marowe will play their home matches in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup in Egypt.#TotalEnergiesCAFCL #TotalEnergiesCAFCC— NUHU ®️ (@NuhuAdams_) October 4, 2021 While the club did not issue a reason for the change in venue that took away the home advantage from the Sudanese side, reports state a lack of certified pitches as the reason behind the change.“Our CAF Confederation match (first leg) versus Al Ahly Merowe of Sudan to be played in Suez, Egypt on October 15 and not in Sudan as earlier scheduled,” the club posted a tweet confirming the change.Our CAF Confed match ( first leg ) versus Al Ahly Merowe of Sudan to be played in Suez, Egypt on October 15 and not in Sudan as earlier scheduled. #Sirkal | #Betsafe pic.twitter.com/IOTCsy572n— GOR MAHIA FC (@OfficialGMFC) October 4, 2021 Gor booked their ticket to the continental tournament after winning the 2021 Football Kenya Federation Cup against bitter rivals AFC Leopards who they beat on post match penalties. However, in order to make it to the group stages of the prestigious African competition, K’Ogalo face a toll order as they will only have eighteen players registered for duty as opposed to the normal twenty three due to an earlier ban that had been placed on the club.Should they also make it past Merowe, Gor will still have to face another tough opposition from the CAF Champions League in the final round before the group stages.“It is not going to be easy, it is going to be very demanding on the players we have available. Obviously, if we can get through to the group then we can have our new players involved. But we have to get over Al-Ahly Merowe and if we do that, then we have another game. The players will have to be on their A-game that is for sure. They will need to produce a 100% performance for us to be successful. It is going to be difficult but we have to get our heads down and try,” the head coach said about the upcoming fixture.EXCLUSIVE: One on One with Gor Mahia head coach Mark Harrison
