Nairobi’s reputation as the city of cool waters may have caught out Mogadishu City Club FC, who have found the city in baking hot weather ahead of their CAF Champions League first round qualifier against Kenya Police FC on 20 and 28 September.
Mogadishu City Club arrived in Nairobi on Friday last week to begin preparations for the two-legged clash against Police, and have experienced the beginning of the hot season, following months of cold weather stretching across the months of June, July and August.
They have been training at the Dandora Stadium for the clash and it is expected that the weather conditions on Saturday will be in the region of 25 degrees Celsius, making it a hot day for the players who will feature during the clash. Mogadishu City coach Daadir Ali was pleasantly surprised by the type of weather experienced in the city this week.
" The weather has really surprised me. It is extremely hot in Nairobi. It has been hotter than we experienced in Dar Es Salaam, Ali told Radio Generation Sport.
The Somali outfit participated in the CECAFA Kagame Cup in Tanzania in the coastal city of Dar Es Salaam where the weather is usually hot and humid but the coach argues that his players have found Nairobi to be a furnace.
" The players have said it is hotter than it was in Tanzania but we are happy to be here to prepare early for this, he added.
The match will offer an opportunity for Mogadishu City Club to test itself against Kenya's best club side and Ali Daadir is happy to take on the challenge ahead,
" We have watched them in Tanzania and we know them. At Kagame, we proved that we can play well against the best sides like Al Hilal so we are confident that we will pick up a good result, he hopes.
Kick off on Saturday will be at 4 PM Kenyan time.
