Rising Stars will not travel to Morocco for their camp as planned and here is why the change in plan was unavoidable.
Rising Stars’ plans to hold a ten-day training camp in Morocco ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON U-20) tournament in Egypt are off according to sources.
The 26-man squad led by head coach Salim Babu had been expected to jet out of the country on Friday, April 18, but the plans were scrapped at the last minute.
The change in plans follows the AFCON group stage draw which placed Kenya and Morocco in the same group, making it impossible for the two sides to face off in pre-tournament friendlies.
Kenya’s Rising Stars are 180 minutes away from securing a second-consecutive FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup place, with a ‘physical’ Cameroon side awaiting them.
“Kenya’s U20 team, the Rising Stars, will no longer travel to Morocco for their final AFCON preparations — that plan has officially been scrapped,” Ole Teya posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“Instead, the team is set to fly out to Egypt on Monday to finalize their build-up ahead of their opening AFCON U20 clash against Morocco on May 1st.
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“The change in plans follows the AFCON group stage redraw, which placed Kenya and Morocco in the same group, making it impossible for the two sides to face off in pre-tournament friendlies.”
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Sports CS Salim Mvurya has provided an update on when the remaining renovation works at Kasarani Stadium will be completed before test matches start being held at the venue in June.
Kenya are in Group B of the biennial championship alongside record champions Nigeria, hard-to-beat Morocco and the ever-improving Tunisia.
The initial draw pitted Kenya against reigning champions Senegal, Sierra Leone and Zambia.
Rising Stars are debuting in the continental showpiece and have been hard at work for the the three-week long tournament.
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Victor Wanyama was in buoyant mood after he was reunited with a former Celtic mascot.
Egypt will host the starting April 27 to May 18 and the Amos Wanjala-captained Rising Stars are in buoyant mood about their chances.
The top four teams in the tournament all qualify for the U-20 World Cup meaning reaching the semifinals is the bare minimum.
