By Dayo Awoniyi
Kenya U20 captain Baron Ochieng exudes confidence ahead of the upcoming U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
The Rising Stars have been drawn into a challenging group with Nigeria’s Flying Eagles, Morocco, and Tunisia.
“We have been training for the past two weeks, and everything has been going on well as planned. Our intensity has been building, and the confidence has been growing,” Ochieng, who plays for Sofapaka in the Kenyan Premier League, in an interview with Flashscore.
“Despite the change in the draw, we don’t have any fear, we are ready and prepared to face anyone in the tournament. In fact, facing Morocco is nothing to fear. Before the draw changed, if we had done well in the group stages, it meant we could have come up against them; maybe even in the quarter-finals or semi-finals.
“We were definitely going to play Morocco and the rest of the so-called giants, so we don’t have to fear facing them in the group stage.”
Ochieng added: “We are prepared for the task ahead and we are good to go. As players, we don’t have to blame the weather if results don’t go our way. Most of the players who live in Nairobi sometimes travel to Mombasa to play matches and we end up winning. So we must adapt. We will definitely adapt to the weather.”
The tournament kicks off on April 27, and Ochieng’s confidence could be a key factor in Kenya’s campaign.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
