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The Nairobian

WHERE ARE THE PLAYERS? Williamson decries depleted squad ahead of Cape Verde match

Football

By Gilbert Wandera | Nov 09, 2015

Bobby Williamson of Kenya instruct his charges against APR FC from Rwanda during their Cecafa Kagame Club Cup 2014 championship at Kigali Regional Stadium in Nyamirambo on August 15,2014. They drew 2-2 .Photo/Stafford Ondego/www.pic-centre.com/CECAFA (RWANDA)

With four days left before Kenya plays Cape Verde in a 2018 Pre-World Cup qualifier, Harambee Stars coach Bobby Williamson is a worried man.

Only 15 players turned up for the team’s training session on Friday at Kasarani and the Scott is not even sure when he will have a full house to prepare for the Friday match.

Gor Mahia, Ulinzi Stars and Bandari players were not available for the Friday training programme, as they were on club duty in weekend matches.

Williamson yesterday said he will not have enough time to prepare for the match and expressed his frustration at the continued club versus country battle, which he has had to deal with since taking over the hot seat.

“Zambia have stopped their league to concentrate on the World Cup qualifiers, while in Kenya, the matches a still going on. We will certainly not have enough time to prepare (for the match),” he said.

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Williamson is not even sure when his foreign players will arrive, as they can only jet into the country five days before the November 13 fixture, in line with Fifa rules.

“I am not even sure who is coming and who is not, but we will have to do with those who make it,” the coach added.

Williamson also justified his decision to call 34 players to prepare for both the World Cup qualifier and the Senior Challenge Cup, which kicks off on November 21 in Ethiopia.

“When I was the coach of Uganda Cranes, we used to have at least two weeks of training before the Challenge Cup. In this case, the GOtv shield ends on November 21 and the regional tournament kicks off a day later. The whole idea of calling up such a big squad was to take care of such eventualities. It will give us some time to train with those who are available,”he explained.

On a positive note, Williamson is delighted to be starting against Cape Verde in Nairobi, pointing out that it gives his side a big advantage.

“Our opponents will be disadvantaged after the long travel, while we will be at home and hopefully, with all our players. This gives us an edge. However, there is also concern regarding our travel to Cape Verde. This will certainly take a toll on us,” he said.

The return match will be played three days later, with Harambee Stars required to make the long travel through Europe to the Cape Verde Islands.

Elsewhere, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has confirmed that the Government will take over preparations for the match against Cape Verde.

The federation said in a statement that the Ministry of Sports will pay allowances and air tickets for foreign-based players.