By Gilbert Wandera
Harambee Stars technical bench omitted foreign-based player when it named the squad to start preparing for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
Assistant coach Yusuf Chipo said consultations are still going on with ‘three or four’ of the foreign based players to determine, who will be available for the fixtures.
With team captain Dennis Oliech having announced his retirement from the team it was always going to be interesting whether the coaches would go ahead and name the Auxerre striker in the team.
“For now it is our wish to just name local players who begin training on Monday. Once consultations are done with the foreign based players then we will make their names public,” Chipo said at Saturday’s press conference.
Apart from Oliech, other foreign-based players who are expected in camp include Celtic midfielder Victor Mugubi and first choice goalkeeper Anthony Origi.
Parma midfielder Macdonald Mariga is injured and will be out for the rest of the season. But even then his availability has always been in question considering that he refused to play against Togo in February owing to a standoff over his ticket refund.
Origi is supposed to make a comeback to the team after he announced his retirement from international duty three months ago.
Good performance in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) has seen Thika United marksman Kepha Aswani and his teammate Clifton Miheso included in the squad unveiled by Chipo on Saturday.
League top scorer
Aswani is enjoying great form and is currently one of the top scorers in the league with seven goals so far. He scored four times during last month’s 6-0 defeat of Rangers. Other players making a comeback to the team include Tusker’s trio of Joseph Shikokoti, Peter Opiyo and Jockins Atudo. AFC Leopards goalkeeper Patrick Matasi is also in the team following a great spell in the league.
The team is set to start residential training on Sunday and will be training from Monday to Thursday every week before being released to go play for their clubs on weekends.
The team may take part in three or four friendly matches with national sides from Southern Africa as part of their preparations for the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) head of technical committee Elly Mukolwe said they will ensure Stars have enough preparations.
