NAIROBI, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Thursday expected their great run in international football to continue to shine in their battle with Burundi in the Africa Nations Championships (CHAN).
Head Coach Sebastian Migne said he has enough time to focus on the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which will run in Egypt from June 21 to July 19, and will have enough time to prepare the squad for the CHAN competition, which is only open to local based players.
Kenya play Burundi in Nairobi on July 26 and a return leg set two days later in Bujumbura.
"Away from AFCON, we have to play Burundi and I'm confident of picking a win in the first round though it will not be easy. Burundi have also qualified for the AFCON mainly using local players so it will be hard for us to beat them," Migne said in Nairobi .
But the French coach is keen to keep on writing history in Kenyan football. First he picked the team almost drifting down the drain to qualify for the AFCON for the first time in 15 years.
Now he wants to break the jinx and qualifier the local based side for the first time in the CHAN finals.
"We want to rewrite the history of Kenyan football and playing in CHAN is one our biggest ambition," added the coach.
The winner of the tie on aggregate between Kenya and Burundi will face off with either of Tanzania or Sudan in the second and final qualifying round of the tournament, set to be held in Cameroon in January 2020.
Harambee Stars' Enos Ochieng, Joe Waithira, Abdalla Hassan and Kenneth Muguna will focus on CHAN.
Kenya will be looking to make a maiden CHAN appearance at the 16-team tourney reserved exclusively for players actively featuring in their respective national championships. Enditem
