It has been announced that the national football team of The Gambia locally referred to as The Scorpions will host their next FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifiers home game in Nairobi, Kenya against Burundi. The much-hyped game will be an exciting encounter with the two countries willing to increase their chances of acquiring a slot at the world tournament.
Why Nairobi?
This would base the choice of Nairobi to hold the match, because of the issue of stadiums in The Gambia. Since the primary facilities in the country do not presently fulfill the requirements of FIFA, Kenya came forward to offer an alternative. Nyayo stadium and Moi international sports centre located in Kasarani, the largest sports arena in east Africa, currently has been given the facelift as part of preparations of hosting the African Nations championship (CHAN) tournament. With such gains, the facility is now in a top quality and can comfortably host the international FIFA and CAF events.
The Gambia is led by a top coach Johnathan McKinstry who is not a stranger in East African junction. The ex Gor Mahia coach, having experienced strike in the Kenya premier league, is a worthy addition, possessing good track record and excellent tactics to The Scorpions. We do not know much about the African game and McKinstry has the advantage of previous coaching experience in Kenya, which may come in handy as his team tries to take advantage of the so-called home-ground advantage at Nairobi.
Experiences of hosting world cup qualifier in Nairobi are not necessarily logical rather it gives The Gambian an opportunity to demonstrate their emerging aspirations of growing football. The Scorpions have been on the up in African football in the last few years and a highlight of it all is their performance in the Africans Cup of Nations (AFCON). A high-performance environment will also be present when Gambian players play in a world-class stadium, an aspect that may motivate players even more, thus perform better during games.
