Raila visits Stars in Cairo ahead of AFCON kickoff

African Union envoy Raila Odinga paid a courtesy call to the Harambee Stars in Cairo where he threw his weight behind the national team ahead of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) kickoff.

Mr Odinga arrived in the Egyptian capital on Thursday and is will watch the AFCON openers between the hosts and Zimbabwe on Friday as well as Stars opening match against Algeria on Sunday.

“Today I have come to show my support to Harambee Stars as they represent us at AFCON after 15 years. We want them to give a good account of themselves and show that Kenyan football has come of age.

“Our message was to give them (Harambee Stars) morale, to tell them that the entire nation is behind them and we want them to carry the flag very high.

“I am very happy with the preparations that have been done. I see that morale is very high. We want Kenyans back home to continue sending messages of goodwill and our hope is that the team will go far,” the former Prime Minister said.

Stars captain Victor Wanyama, meanwhile, reiterated the player’s gratitude to Government for facilitating the team’s preparations for the tournament.

“We have had adequate preparations for the tournament. I want to thank Government for fully supporting us and we are confident that we will replicate this support with positive results on the pitch,” said Captain Wanyama.

Stars has been pooled in Group C alongside Algeria, Senegal, and Tanzania.

Kenya will face Tanzania in their second match on June 27, before winding up her group stage matches against Senegal on July 1.

The national team is marking its return to the continent’s most prestigious football competition for the first time in 15 years.

-Material sourced from FKF