KPA take a leap of faith in pursuit of African title

The Dockers finished ninth in their maiden appearance two years ago before placing fifth in last year’s edition held in Tunisia and Ontere is optimistic they can go a step further and finish within the medal bracket.

The team was flagged off on Tuesday by KPA top brass led by Managing Director Captain William Ruto, ahead of the championship scheduled for April 14-23 in Cairo, Egypt.

“We’ve had what I can term as proper training and now we will depart for Nairobi to participate in the KPC@50 Tournament that we intend to use to gauge ourselves before jetting out for the championship.

“This year I believe we’re ripe for a medal bracket finish. We’ve been making a leap towards it in the last two years and finally I think we can upset the status quo,” Ontere said.

Ontere is however wary of the threat posed by Egypt and Tunisia clubs, who have dominated the scene since 2008.

“Egypt and Tunisia are our biggest opponents and when you look at the previous champions list, both countries have produced winners and we expect them to be on top of their game once again this year.

“They are really much ahead of us in terms of preparations, infrastructure and therefore their dominance is not by mistake, they deserve it.”

Reigning local champions Kenya Prisons are the only Kenyan side to finish in the medal bracket when they lost 3-0 sets to championship record winners Al Ahly of Egypt in the 2011 final held in Cairo.

Captain Ruto, who handed KPA’s flag to the team, promised they would continue to support the club.

“KPA will not only be carrying our hopes but those of the whole country. We’re behind them and we expect they post commendable results. They have continued to improve since our first appearance and I know this year they are capable of moving within the top three bracket.”’

KPA and Equity are the only Kenya’s representatives at the annual continental clubs showpiece.