Why Kenyan clubs are not ripe for African club football

Financial challenges, lack of planning, and limited experience contributed to Kenyan clubs that s again coming short of honours on the continental front.

At the weekend, both Gor Mahia and Bandari were ousted from Caf Confederation Cup at the play-offs stage following defeats to DC Motema Pembe (DR Congo) and AC Horoya (Guinea).

Despite scoring first in both games, K'Ogalo lost 2-1 in Kinshasa for a 3-2 aggregate loss. Gor had been relegated from the Champions League to the to the Confederation Cup following that heavy 6-1 aggregate loss to Algeria's USM Algers in the second round in September.

Bandari meanwhile, struggled in both games against the seasoned Guinean club featuring a host of stars including veteran Burkinabe hit man Aristide Bance, Ugandan keeper Robert Odongkara and Ghanaian born attacker Mandela Ocansey.

Mercurial defender Wellington Ochieng scored Gor’s lone goal in Kinshasa and later told Nation Sport his team was 'unlucky' to lose that match.

"It would have been a different ball game if we maintained our lead at the half-time break. We conceded an easy goal and it changed everything," said Ochieng.

But there is another story to this. Financially strapped Gor coach Steve Polack was parading a squad lacking morale amid reports the players have yet to receive their pay for three months.

Still, the club's management, for some reason, failed to register several influential players including winger Clifton Miheso and Ghanaian forward Francis Afiriye who were likely to have made a difference.

The club, though, appears to be struggling to replace lethal Rwandan forwards Jacques Tuyisenge and Meddie Kagere who left to join Angola's Petro Atletico and Tanzania's Simba respectively.

On their part, a blunt Bandari was no match for the expensively assembled and experienced Horoya. At Kasarani, the West Africans were physically bigger, tactically better and should have won with more goals.

Forwards William Wadri and Ali Hassan impressed in phases for the Dockers but this wasn't enough as inexperience crept in at some point, most telling, when they conceded the goal.

"Our continental adventure has ended but we have good memories of defeating teams from Tunisia and Sudan.

"We are hungrier for more successes on the domestic front this season and return to Africa next season," said Bandari coach Bernard Mwalala.

These results mean Kenyan clubs have missed out on at least Sh27 million after failing to make it to the group stage of this competition.