National amputee men’s football team are wary of a tough pool in the 2021 Cup of African Nations for Amputees Football (Canaf) planned for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from November 25 to December 5.
Coach Willis Odhiambo’s side of 20 players will leave the country for Tanzania on Wednesday morning for the continental showpiece, which doubles up as the qualifiers for the 2022 Amputee Football World Cup in Turkey.
The top four teams will qualify for the global championships.
Kenya, who are making their second appearance at the Canaf, are in a tough Group B, alongside World champions Angola, Rwanda, the reigning champions of the Confederation of East and Central Africa Amputees Federation (Cecaaf), and Zanzibar.
Morocco, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ethiopia, Gambia, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and the hosts are the other teams taking part in the competition.
Kenya will kick-off their campaign against Rwanda on Saturday at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, before facing off with Zanzibar the following day at the same venue.
They will then clash with Angola on Monday at the same venue. The match against Rwanda is expected to be tough as the two teams will be renewing rivalries.
Rwanda beat Kenya 3-1 in the finals of the 2019 Cecaafa in Tanzania.
“Our biggest challengers are Angola and Rwanda. Zanzibar are not very tough, but we cannot underrate them,” said coach Odhiambo.
“But here we have the big boys and if you see the young boys managed to reach the finals (Cacaaf), it means that we are very much prepared to meet them (Rwanda). My target is getting the cup which is very much possible because we are well prepared.”
Kenya hosted the 2014 Canaf event and emerged fourth in the competition that was staged at City Stadium in Nairobi.
Should they side clinch a ticket to the 2022 World Cup in Turkey, it will be their third ever appearance at the global event.
Kenya’s first World Cup appearance was in 2014 where they finished 12th. They returned to the big stage in 2019 and emerged ninth.
“Our performance in the World Cup has been improving and that is our aim in Turkey. We will give our best in Tanzania to ensure that we continue flying our country’s flag high,” added Odhiambo.
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