Kenya to play African champions Egypt in Cairo on Friday

Kenya’s international friendly match against African Champions Egypt will still go ahead as planned later this week despite the sacking of head coach Francis Kimanzi, football officials said on Monday.

Kimanzi, who was fired on Sunday after being accused of insubordination was replaced by a former international defender John Bobby Ogolla who will be in charge for the match in Cairo on January 23.

“Kenya cannot afford to ignore this important fixture,” Football Kenya Limited (FKL) vice chairman Titus Kasuve said.

“We are fortunate to be playing against a Maghreb state before we face Tunisia in the opening round of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, and this match, which was postponed from last November, also serves a charity to raise money for the people in Gaza”.

Before his sacking, Kimanzi had criticised the scheduling of the match, claiming the short time to train after returning from the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup where his side lost 1-0 to arch-rivals Uganda in the final on January 13 in Kampala.