CHAN 2024: Harambee Stars Captain Aboud Omar on Why Pressure of Playing at Home is Good for Benni McCarthy’s Team

Harambee Stars captain Aboud Omar has expressed his confidence in the fact that Kenya will be playing their African Nations Championships (CHAN 2024) matches at home rather than away.

While there have been fears that Kenya might disappoint especially now that they are in a tough Group A that also has DR Congo, Morocco, Angola and Zambia, Omar thinks otherwise.

Playing on home soil puts extra pressure on Harambee Stars to impress fans, which can be too much to handle when things do not go right, but Omar thinks it is actually a good thing that they will be playing at their own backyard.

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“There will always be pressure when you are playing at home and that comes with both advantages and disadvantages. For us, the focus is on the advantages it brings to our end,” Omar told Telecomasia.net.

“That support and the noise from fans will push us to achieve and everyone will want to do the best for the fans and families who will be watching at home. We have a good balance in the squad with young and experienced players and the duty will be on us experienced players to show the young ones how to deal with the pressure. We hope our fans turn out in large numbers and offer us that huge support that we need for every game.”

Omar has issued a rallying call to his team-mates to grab their opportunities and ensure they shine as the tournament also puts them in the shop window for clubs in Africa and beyond.

“Most of the time, for the international games, you find that local-based players don’t get as many opportunities to make the team because of the foreign-based players. But, this tournament offers us who play locally a chance to show what we can do and prove ourselves for the main national team,” he added.

“It is also an opportunity to market ourselves because I know that very many scouts and team representatives will be coming to watch and others will be following on TV. So, for players who are ambitious and want to take the next steps in their careers, this tournament offers that chance.”

Harambee Stars will play all their matches at Kasarani Stadium with their first match against DR Congo on August 3.