FKF postpones Leopards vs Bidco GOtv Shield tie

Footballl Kenya Federation (FKF) have approved a request made by AFC Leopards to postpone its GOtv Shield Cup round of 16 tie with Bidco United.

AFC Leopards had written to the national football governing body seeking to have the clash deferred owing to the fact that three of his players are part of the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) AllStars squad that will feature in Spain.

The three – Victor Majid, Robinson Kamura and Duncan Otieno – were part of the team that left the country for Spain on Sunday ahead of their friendly matches with LaLiga 123 sides Cordoba CF and Sevilla Atlético.

Leopards Head Coach Robert Matano had told the club’s management he is unwilling to proceed in the absence of the three amid fears most players at his disposal are struggling to pass fitness tests.

“We have three of our players in the Kenyan select team and also most of our players are sick and more others sustained injuries after the Bandari FC tie in Mombasa.

“We have two to three other players who have taken sick leaves since travelling back from Mombasa,” Leopards Secretary General Oscar Igaida told Citizen Digital.

Igaida affirmed they will oblige to all the needs of their new coach as he backed the tactician to restore the winning spirit back at the Den.

Matano led Ingwe to their first KPL win in nine matches last weekend when they defeated Bandari 1-0 at the Mbaraki Stadium in Mombasa.

He marked his managerial debut at the Den with a 2-0 win over Nairobi Stima in the GOtv Shield round of 32 and refused to rule out their chances of winning the KPL this season.

“We’re not badly off at the moment and we’re only ten points below the leaders. There is nothing impossible and right now no one has been announced champion so we’ll push for the trophy to the last match,” the former Ulinzi Stars tactician stated.

Igaida said the magnitude of the GOtv Shield should not be understated and would take the competition they last won in 2013 seriously.

“This is a knock out tournament and the coach takes every match with all the seriousness it requires.”

The fixture has now been rescheduled to July 26.

-Additional reporting by Bernard Ndong.