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Kenya to play Liberia friendly in Nairobi

Xinhua, October 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

With their prospects for Russia 2018 World Cup up in smoke, Kenya has scheduled a friendly international match against Liberia in Nairobi in November.

The team, which had no commitments over the international break this week, last played against Democratic Republic of Congo last week where they won 1-0.

Now Football Federation of Kenya (FKF) President Nick Mwendwa says they will play Liberia on a date yet to be confirmed in November. The next Fifa international calendar begins on Nov. 7-15.

"We must always have our players busy. We have to get a match for them and I am happy that Liberia has confirmed. We will announce the dates soon after logistics have been confirmed," he said Wednesday in Nairobi.

Mwendwa noted that the game will provide Harambee Stars head coach Stanley Okumbi the perfect opportunity to test and polish his boys ahead of the regional Senior Challenge Cup tournament, which will be hosted in Nairobi in December.

Kenya is also preparing to start the qualification campaign for the 2019 Africa Nations Cup. "We have showed that to get good results you must have good preparations. If you invest more in preparation your likelihood of succeeding is very high," said Mwendwa.

Harambee Stars have a better head-to-head record over the Liberians from their only two meetings in World Cup qualifiers in 1989 where Kenya won 1-0 on aggregate.

The teams drew 0-0 in January in Monrovia before Stars won 1-0 at home on Aug. 12, 1989.

Kenya has improved in its Fifa rankings since the new coach was named to replace Scotsman Bobby Williamson last year and Mwendwa believes it is a matter of time before the country makes its breakthrough and returns to the finals of the Africa Nations Cup or makes its first qualification at the Fifa World Cup.

Kenya last competed at the Africa Nations Cup in 2004 in Tunis.

"We are putting up the structures and it takes time. We will not expect results overnight, but in not more than three years, you will see where the national team will be," he said.

"Kenyans have a right to demand better results by 2018 but now we are streamlining our structures." Endit