NAIROBI, Kenya, July 29, 2026 – Despite language barriers within the team, Tusker FC captain Abud Omar says the players’ love for football and hunger to succeed has united them in pursuit of success.
Omar says the team are of one heart and mind, determined to achieve the high goals set this season by head coach Julien Mette.
“There is a little bit of that (language barrier) but at the end of the day in football we speak one language. We have done quite an impressive job in embracing the system of the coach and even he has been impressed. The language barrier has not been a huge problem because we have understood the coach’s philosophy even though we have not trained and played together for that long. This is only pre-season…our focus is on the Confederations Cup and the Premier League,” the left-footed defender said.
The brewers are currently in Rwanda for the Cecafa Club Championships where they face hosts Rayon Sports on Wednesday night in their second Group C fixture at the Kigali Pele Stadium.
They will need to be at their best against the Rwandese, if they are to progress to the knockouts, following Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Sudanese giants Al Hilal at the Amahoro Stadium.
Omar who is confident of a much-improved performance against Rayon Sports — now that they know each other better.
“We are gelling together as a team as we know each other better. I am confident that we will be a much better team than our last match. We have rectified our mistakes and are praying for a victory. A lot of the players are motivated…we knew that our first match was never going to be easy but then again we lost focus. This time, we are ready…we have done some video analysis…the strikers are hungry to score goals as well,” the former Kenya Police skipper explained.
So motivated are Mette’s charges that Omar says that the capacity home crowd at the stadium will not overawe them.
“We know they are playing at home, in front of their fans, but we are prepared and focused on getting the result that we need,” he said.
The brewers are competing in the regional competition for the first time since 2008, in Tanzania.
Their last crown came in 2001 when they beat Sudan’s El Merreikh 2-1 in the final — under the tutelage of Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee.
