‘We Were Sleeping on the Floor’ - Harambee Stars Goalkeeper Lifts Lid on Awful Conditions in Tanzania and Zanzibar

Harambee Stars goalkeeper Faruk Shikalo has laid the poor conditions they were subjected to in Tanzania in July leading to their withdrawal from the CECAFA Four-Nations Tournament.

Coach Benni McCarthy pulled the plug when he concluded that the conditions subjected to his team were not ideal when they were just about to feature in the 2024 African Nations Championships.

According to Shikalo, McCarthy had every right to make the decision as they had faced and even worse experience early this year during the Mapinduzi Cup in Zanzibar.

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“Many people judged us and said it was wrong we should have just played but they do not know that even before that, when we played the Mapinduzi Cup, we were sleeping on the floor,” Shikalo said on the TikiTaka Show.

“We do not talk because we go there to fly our flag and we know this is an opportunity every player dreams of but we were sleeping on the floor.

“We withstood all those conditions and went on to fight on the pitch. We were wondering why they despise us so much yet we give them a good reception here [in Kenya],” added Shikalo, who was part of the team that reached the final of the Mapinduzi Cup before losing to hosts Zanzibar in controversial circumstances.

Shikalo them explained the poor state of the facilities they were set to use in Tanzania for the CECAFA Four-Nations tournament in Karatu before McCarthy concluded that they were better off back home.

“In Tanzania, at the hotel, you had to go to the reception, which is like 500m away, to get WIFI connection,” he added.

“The food was also substandard and it is why the coach said with this environment, I cannot risk. So he said, why don’t we go back home somewhere good where there are no risks?

“The hotel Tanzania and Senegal were booked in was great, so why not us? That is why the coach said there was no need to risk diseases when CHAN was just around the corner,” added the goalkeeper.

The other issues that led to Kenya’s withdrawal was the state of the pitch, an artificial turf, as well as the training venue that fell below the standards with the Harambee Stars boss feeling that his players risked injuries before a major tournament.