Former Harambee Stars head coach Zedekiah ‘Zico’ Otieno has labeled Iran as a decent opponent for the team that is gearing towards a return to international football after more than a year in the cold.Stars, are scheduled to play Iran on March 28 in Tehran in a friendly match, the first, after Kenya was freed to engage in FIFA sanctioned activities including international matches.##NAJAVA_MECA_7108294##Kenya was formally suspended from international matches in February last year following the decision by former Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed to disband the federation in November 2021.Zico, while responding to the question touching on the quality of opponent lined up for the Kenyan boys, said Iran was a perfect test given their ranking and the number of appearance the team has made in the World Cup.Ulinzi Starlets begin Cup defense away to GusiiThe gaffer who locally, tutors KCB observed that Iran did incredibly well in the 2022 FIFA World Cup held last year in Qatar and had made three back to back appearances in the quadrennial event.”Iran has been in the World Cup six times and has participated in the last three editions. This is a decent test for the Kenyan team. In fact, we should be celebrating and be glad that, we have landed the opportunity to play them,” he remarked. Muguna the first pro to link up with Harambee Stars ahead of Iran friendlyZico who served as Stars assistant coach between August 2019 and October 2020 challenged the current boss Engin Firat to get the boys ready for the friendly.Omanyala, Fraser-Pryce headline acts for inaugural Botswana Continental Tour GoldKenya was initially supposed to have played their CECAFA counterpart Burundi but, the plan aborted under unclear circumstances as none of the federations has formally cleared the air.”All we need to do is, to ensure that the boys are up to the challenge. This is also an opportunity for the coach to gauge the boys. This is a real test for the team,” he insisted.The Amir Ghalenoei’s coached outfit is ranked 24th in the global index, a whopping 77 places ahead of the Harambee Stars. Additional reporting by Bonface Osano
