Gor Mahia earn ticket to next round of Confed Cup
The Confederation of African Football yesterday cancelled the CAF Confederations Cup preliminary match between Gor Mahia and Al Ahly Merowe of Sudan that was due to be played at the Nyayo National Stadium.
CAF took the decision after receiving communication from the Sudanese Football Association withdrawing Al Ahly Merowe from the competition.
It is not exactly clear why Al Ahly Merowe failed to make the trip but Gor Mahia now gets a bye to the second round without much trouble, especially having won the first leg of the duel 3-1 away in Suez City, Egypt.
A statement from CAF Interclubs Manager (Competitions Division) Emad Shenouda copied to Football Kenya Federation read: “We would like to inform you that the Sudanese federation have communicated the withdrawal of the club Ahly Merowe from the competition.
Accordingly, we hereby inform you that the match is canceled and that Gor Mahia have qualified to the additional second preliminary round of the competition.
The host federation is kindly requested to proceed with the payment of all financial dues to the officials.
A detailed decision will be communicated to all concerned parties in due course.”
Fans back
Gor Mahia had for a good bit of Saturday morning been preparing for the return leg under the watchful eyes of coach Mark Harrison and his assistant Sammy Omollo.
A statement from Gor Mahia on their official social handles stated: “ Our CAF match against Al Ahly, Merowe of Sudan that was set for today (Sunday) was cancelled after the opponents failed to show up; we qualify to the next round.”
The match failure came at a loss for lovers of K’Ogalo who had seen the government allow 10,000 fans into the stadium.
Following the directive by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Mashujaa Day that the dawn to dusk curfew had been lifted, the club faithful were looking ahead to cheering their team after more than a year out due to Covid-19 restrictions.
