Police FC plotting end to Kenyan Club's CAF Champions League curse in maiden appearance

Kenya Police FC will mark a historic milestone on Saturday,20 September, as they make their maiden appearance in the CAF Champions League with a tantalising clash against Somali side Mogadishu City Club.

The much-anticipated 4:00 PM kickoff encounter at Nyayo National Stadium, the first meeting between the two sides, promises to serve as a litmus test for the Kenyan champions as they step onto Africa’s grandest club football stage.

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The law enforcers, who clinched the 2024/25 FKF Premier League crown, are determined to translate their domestic dominance into continental success.

For a club that only made its inter-club debut last season in the CAF Confederation Cup, this campaign represents both an opportunity and a challenge to showcase their growth against Africa’s elite. Last year, Police were, then, edged out from the first round after losing to Egyptian giants Zamalek.

Standing in their way is Mogadishu City Club, a team steeped in experience at this level. Formerly known as Banadir SC, the Somalian giants will be making their third appearance in the Champions League.

They previously featured in back-to-back campaigns in 2020/21 and 2021/22, with their last outing ending in the first round after a narrow 2-1 aggregate defeat to Rwanda’s APR FC.

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Their continental know-how, drawn from those encounters, will no doubt serve as a weapon as they seek to halt Police’s momentum.

Police, however, will be buoyed by an ambitious recruitment drive that brought in several high-profile signings aimed at steering the club to success.

Among their foreign acquisitions are Moise Mbombo from AF Anges Verts (DR Congo), Exause Misuri from OC Renaissance du Congo, Khadime Ndiaye from Rayon Sports (Rwanda), Samuel Ayandrinde from Shooting Stars (Nigeria), Tychick Mosengwo from Gorilla FC (Rwanda), Gedeon Muyadi from OC Renaissance, and Mohammed Sarwari from Celta Academy in Spain.

Locally, the club strengthened with Harambee Stars duo Edward Omondi and veteran defender Joash Onyango, as well as Tobias Otieno, who returns from a five-year stint in the USA with Tormenta FC.

Further depth came from promising talents Simeon Nyamwaya (Bidco United), Stephen Okola (Mathare United), Eustars Chasara (Kibera Black Stars), and Albert Otieno (Police Youth).

Mogadishu City, meanwhile, will rely on the skill and experience of its key players, including Feysal Hashi, Ali Omar, IL Yaas, Ibrahima Bangaruua, and Stephane Adjimani, to power them past Police.

Interestingly, both teams fine-tuned their preparations at the CECAFA Kagame Cup earlier this year, with Police and Mogadishu bowing out after finishing second in their respective groups on six and seven points, respectively.

Police captain David ‘Cheche’ Ochieng is confident the team will make it to the group stages of the tournament.

Ochieng believes they learnt valuable lessons last year and believes this can push them further in the tournament.

“We picked up some important lessons, being our first time at this stage, and we have a goal this year to reach the group stages of the tournament, and we have been working very hard to achieve our dream,” he said.

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Cheche also paid tribute to the team’s new signings, pointing out that they have jelled well with the rest of the squad and are feeling at home.

“Most of our new players are French-speaking, but despite that, they have jelled well because some can speak some English. It is also an opportunity for us to learn a new language, and so we have made them feel welcome in the team. We lost some good players after last season, but we have got some equally great ones who have continental football experience and should help us achieve our goals,” he added.

He further expressed concern that continental football may interfere with their league participation, but quickly insisted they have the squad to successfully take on both competitions.

“We started the league slowly last year because of our continental assignments and had some catch-up matches to play. We learnt from that experience, and this time we have a squad that can successfully juggle both tournaments.”