Kenya: Ulinzi Focus Now On Military Games

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Francis Wadegu

13 July 2011

ULINZI Stars make the journey across the Atlantic Ocean to participate in the 5th World Military Games starting on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The soldiers barely had time to recover from their excursions in the just concluded Cecafa Club Championships, where they were eliminated at the quarter-finals stage by the eventual bronze medallist El Merreikh of Sudan. “It’s been a tough month for us,” admitted coach Benjamin Nyangweso, whose side won the inaugural KPL Top Eight tournament, pocketing Sh1million on the way before their departure for the Cecafa event in Tanzania.

The soldiers will have to endure a fixture pile up in their bid to retain the Kenya Premier League title due to their commitments in the tournament but coach Nyangweso was confident they had enough in their ranks to participate in many tournaments. “If we suffer injuries, then definitely it will affect our title defence but we have a big enough squad to cope with the many competitions,” he opined. Captain Stephen Ochola makes a return to the 18-man squad after being left out of the Cecafa team

Kevin Makhanu and Vincent Onyango are the omission from the squad that did duty for them in Tanzania.

The Kenyan representatives have been paired in Group “B” alongside fellow Africans Egypt, France and Ecuador. “We don’t know much about our opponents but the fact that they come from strong footballing nations gives an indication that they are going to be tough,” agreed Nyangweso.

Line-up: Goalkeepers-Jacktone Odhiambo, Francis Ochieng, Francis Onyiso; Defenders: Geoffrey Kokoyo, Hussein Mohammed, Josiah Odhiambo, Mulinge Ndeto, Richard Chege; Midfielders: George Otieno, Kevin Ouma, Stephen Ocholla, Eric Apul, Ibrahim Ismail, Evans Amuoka; Strikers: Brian Kakah, Allan Muhati, Stephen Waruru and Anthony Nderitu.

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