Barnsleys Clarke Oduor set to link up with Harambee Stars

Barnsleys Clarke Oduor set to link up with Harambee Stars

Harambee Stars head coach Francis Kimanzi expects Sweden based centre-back Joseph Stanley Okumu (Elfsborg) and Barnsley’s full-back (England) Clarke Oduor to join camp by Wednesday morning to make for a full house as the team heightens their preparations for Friday’s international friendly with Zambia.

Only the duo is yet to report to camp even as the team held training sessions at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on Tuesday.

Clarke, who is eligible to represent England too will be aiming to earn his first cap in the friendly.

Thus, 21 players took part in the Tuesday’s sessions with returning vice-captain Brian Mandela expressing confidence of a positive result come Friday.

“The mood in the camp is great and players are looking forward to achieving a good result against Zambia,” the former Maritzbug United man,  now unattached, told Football  Kenya Federation (FKF) media.

The team is holding two sessions a day to enhance players fitness, as most have been inactive since March this year when COVID-19 struck Kenya.

Meanwhile, FKF president  Nick Mwendwa has confirmed the Zambia friendly will be beamed live by their new broadcast partners StarTimes, the first match to be aired under the seven-year deal.

“No fans will be allowed into the stadium owing to the COVID-19 regulations but the match will be live on StarTimes, so fans will have an opportunity to watch. We are strictly observing the protocols set as we use the match as a test of what we will apply when kicking off the league,” noted Mwendwa.

The match will kickoff at 4pm at the newly renovated Nyayo National Stadium, on Friday.

This is the first time the Stars are playing since last year when the Francis Kimanzi coached side drew Togo 1-1 in their second match of the 2021 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

The friendly is part of preparations for their third and forth qualifiers against Comoros, set for next month.

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Francis Kimanzi Harambee Stars Kasarani Clarke Oduor Zambia friendly match

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