Tour of Uganda harkens back to good old days

Gor Mahia were invited to a fully paid for trip to Uganda in which they played Express FC and SC Villa. The tour harkened back to the glory days when Gor Mahia were regional giants and routinely played against Uganda’s top teams. Fans of teams all over the region often shook in their boots at the prospect of playing Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards who between them won the CECAFA cup for nine consecutive years between 1979 and 1987.

Gor Mahia FC put up a brave fight to register a 0-0 score line against Express FC on Friday, before falling 0-1 to SC Villa at the same venue the following day.

The Kenya Premier League side travelled to Uganda without six regulars plus the coach Gideon Ochieng, who was attending a week long FIFA course in Nairobi.

Players Julius Owino, Peter Opiyo and George Odhiambo were in Tunisia with the Kenyan national team and Ibrahim Kitawi, Chris Wekesa and Baldwin Ngwa picked up slight injuries during the training session prior to the trip.

The match against Express FC was part of Uganda’s 47th Anniversary of Independence on Friday.

The Saturday friendly against SC Villa, one of the best football clubs in Uganda who were preparing to represent the country in next year’s CAF Confederation Cup, was a mouth-watering showdown before a sizeable crowd.