Gor Mahia striker Omalla to lead Kenya U20 squad for Cecafa tournament

Gor Mahia striker Benson Omalla is the star player in the Kenya U20 squad for the Cecafa tournament to be staged in Tanzania.

Kenya coach Stanley Okumbi has named the travelling party for the regional competition with Omalla, who signed for K’Ogalo from Western Stima, the star attraction.

The team also has players who played for the Kenya U17 team at the 2019 Africa U17 Cup of Nations Qualifiers, and the Union of North African Federations (Unaf) U17 tournament in Egypt in 2019.

Among them are Maxwell Mulili, Bixente Otieno, Boniface Mwangemi, Alphonse Omija, Kevintom Machika, and Nicholas Omondi. Also included in the squad are Chapa Dimba na Safaricom hotshots Enoch Wanyama and Omala.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) confirmed the Confederation of African Football (Caf) had ordered the Cecafa U20 tournament to be played behind closed doors.

According to TFF secretary general Wilfred Kidao, their efforts to convince Caf to have fans during the competition have hit a snag since the African body feels it is a tournament for junior players and Covid-19 protocols must be adhered to.

“Caf are the main sponsors of the tournament because it will produce two teams that will qualify for the 2021 U20 tournament in Mauritania, and for that, they have asked us to follow the protocol," Kidao told reporters in Dar es Salaam.

“Most tournaments under Fifa and Caf are adhering to Covid-19 protocols and saw all the matches have their own rules, so they have asked us as the host to follow the rules to the letter, we have tried to tell them we don’t have Covid-19 in Tanzania, but they have refused.

“We have told them our country has moved on and everything is back to normal but they have refused, we have also sent them a video of fans attending the derby between Yanga SC and Simba SC but they have also refused to accept our request.”

Kidao continued: “So it now means the U20 matches in Karatwa and Arusha will be played without fans, Caf has said the tournament involves juniors and they have a huge risk of contracting the Covid-19 and so they don’t want fans in attendance.

“We will follow Caf rules, we will adhere to the protocols as laid down and we will do everything to make sure the rules are followed and it is the same thing they did in the Cosafa tournament in South Africa, there were on fans, we really wanted to have fans to support our Tanzania team but the rules have now changed and we don’t have anything we can do.”

Apart from Rwanda and Eritrea who will not take part, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Djibouti, Somalia, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Uganda, will participate in the competition.

Kenya has been pooled in Group C of the tournament that will run from Sunday, November 22, to Wednesday, December 2, 2020, in Arusha.

Rising Stars Squad; Goalkeepers: Maxwell Mulili, Bixente Otieno, Brian Opondo.

Defenders: Boniface Mwangemi, Wardfine Akhatsika, Kelvin Mose, Alphonse Omija, Frank Odhiambo, Lewis Bandi, Fredrick Alushula, Kayci Odhiambo.

Midfielders: Steiner Musasia, Nicholas Omondi, Enoch Wanyama, Ronald Reagan, Alphonse Washe, Mathew Mwendwa, Simon Omondi, Andre Kalama, Danson Kiprono, Ian Simiyu, Austine Odhiambo, Mwakio Kisaka.

Forwards: Benson Omalla, Kevinton Machika, Henry Meja, Sellasie Otieno.