Al Ahli Madani head coach Aliyu Zubairu has blamed the weather in Nairobi, claiming Kenya’s capital has insufficient oxygen, after his side fell 1-0 to Tusker FC to get knocked out of the 2026 CAF Confederation Cup in the first preliminary round at Nyayo Stadium.
The Sudanese giants had forced a 2-2 comeback draw at home last weekend at Kigali Pele Stadium, only for the Brewers to grab a second-half strike in the return leg on Sunday, seeing the SportPesa League side book their place in the next round.
Chrispine Erambo was the man of the moment for Julien Mette’s charges, scoring the decisive solo goal that secured a 3-2 aggregate victory and booked a date with the winner of the first preliminary-round tie between Tanzania’s Singida Black Stars and South Sudan’s Al-Ghazal FC.
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Speaking to the media after the game, the former Nigeria U20 head coach played down any suggestion that they had underestimated their opponents, stating that although they dominated the game, they failed to make the most of their opportunities, allowing Tusker to punish them with their own chance.
“Well, football is all about winning and losing. It’s either you win, you draw or you lose. And in football, when you go to play, there are no minnows. Every country that comes to participate in the competition has a good team. So we came, we played, and we did not use our own chances, while Tusker got their opportunity and made use of it,” he explained.
Zubairu, however, did not put the blame on his tactical adjustments, saying it all came down to the weather in Nairobi.
He claimed that insufficient oxygen in the Kenyan capital played a major role in their performance.
“When it comes to the issue of tactics, sometimes it has to do with the weather. You know, in Kenya, sometimes you don’t have enough oxygen. So when you are coming from somewhere where you have enough oxygen and you go to where there’s not enough oxygen, there’s definitely a kind of natural effect that will affect you. Some of the midfielders could not get themselves together very well, and they couldn’t come up with what we expected from them,” he explained.
With Al Ahli Madani’s journey over for the 2026 Confederation Cup, Tusker’s campaign is very much alive, and they will be looking to go beyond the preliminary rounds, aiming to replicate Nairobi United’s group stage reach last season and even go further.
