There’s renewed hope among Kenyan fans that the Harambee Stars will break a 13-year jinx and return to the African Cup of Nations.

Stars commence the qualifying journey for the 32nd edition of the Africa’s premium football tournament, scheduled for Cameroon in 2019, with an away trip to Sierra Leone to face the Leone Stars Saturday.

Much is at stake as the race to clinch the single direct group F ticket kicks-off in earnest. Others gunning for the group’s ticket are former champions Ghana and 2013 qualifiers Ethiopia, who face off in Kumasi on the same day.

Kenya have been on the rise since the botched Gabon 2017 campaign. They have gone 10 matches unbeaten and are currently ranked 76th globally by FIFA.

Coupled with a much improved organization around the team in terms of getting the basics right, which was a major problem in the past, the feeling is this is the time.

The coach Stanley Okumbi’s charges camped in Machakos in the Eastern part of Kenya in preparation for the first ever meeting with the Leone Stars.

Tottenham Hotspur’s midfielder Victor Wanyama, who is the captain and a key player in the side, is optimistic of a good start.

“We know it’s going to be tough away but we are ready for a good outing on Saturday. We really have a good team and most of the new players are always learning and taking in instructions. This makes us a strong team and with the morale high, anything can happen even with Ghana in the pool. We hope for the best,” Wanyama said.

Leone Stars, unlike the Harambee Stars who played regular friendlies since the last qualifiers, have been inactive and only sprung to life Monday with a 1-0 loss to Liberia in a warm-up staged in Monrovia under their new coach John Keister.

Ranked 113th by FIFA, Leone Stars are 37 places before Kenya and are the underdogs in this tie, at least on paper. Keister relies solely on foreign-based players as domestic leagues are nonexistent in the country in four years.

Sierra Leone’s last qualification for the Afcon was 21 years back in the 1996 edition in South Africa. FC Zurich defender Umaru Bangaura holds that this is equally their chance to break the jinx and book a slot in Cameroon.

“We qualified for successive tournaments in 1994 and 1996 but haven’t qualified to an Afcon tourney since. We want to change this steering mentality and I’m sure with everybody on board, the ship will sail through to its destination safely,” Umaru said.

Kenya Probable XI (4-2-3-1):

Boniface Oluoch (GK)
Musa Mohammed, David Owino, Brian Mandela, Erick Ouma

Anthony Akumu, David Ochieng’

Erick Johanna, Victor Wanyama, Ayub Timbe

Michael Olunga.

Sierra Leone Probable XI (4-3-3):

Zombo Morris (GK)

Yemie Dunia, David Simbo, Umaru Bangura, Hassan M.

John Kamara, Khalifa Jabbie, Alfred Sankoh

Kei Kamara, Alhassan, Julius Woobay