Former Harambee Stars midfielder Macdonald Mariga is confident the team can go past Cameroon in their up-coming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers to qualify for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco.Mariga who won the UEFA Champions League with Inter-Milan has called for concerted support to the team ahead of the doubleheader inorder to motivate them past the Indomitable Lions.“The team has been playing very well and that is they are at the top of their group. At this point, they need every kind of support they can get considering that we just have a few matches to go,” he said.##NAJAVA_MECA_8388613##Mariga wants all payments issues resolved quickly in order to keep the players motivated and debunked the myth that the pedigree of the Cameroon squad is higher compared to Kenya’s.“It does not matter the fact that most of the Cameroon players play in top leagues in Europe. Our players are capable of turning the tables against them. The fact is they may even be scared of us seeing us at the top of the table.“They may even take us as underdogs but they will be cautious to take on us.”Hussein Mohamed to announce ex-Kenyan international as running mate for FKF presidential raceMariga wants Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and the Ministry of Sports to ensure that Harambee Stars travel plans are not disruptive to the team.“The biggest problem even when I was playing was how the team travelled. Sometimes we used to make four or five stop-overs and this is a big challenge to the players.“Both FKF and the Ministry of Sports should ensure that the team travels directly to Uganda after the match.”Mariga, now retired, is one the most successful Kenyan footballers and the only one to have won the prestigious UEFA Champions League.AFC Leopards Youth begin promotion push to FKF Division One with Thika Stars testIn 2006, he nearly became the first Kenyan to play in the English Premier League after his move to Manchester City failed at the last minute due to the country’s then poor ranking in Fifa.Years later, his younger brother Victor Wanyama made history by becoming the first Kenyan to play in the Premier League when he joined Southampton and later played for Tottenham Hotspurs.
