NAIROBI, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan soccer clubs Gor Mahia and Kariobangi Sharks will face an acid test on return to the continental arena this weekend in Nairobi.
On Saturday Sharks will host Ghana's Asante Kotoko, who have pitched camp in Addis Ababa for training for the CAF Confederations Cup, while Gor Mahia, who have appointed new coach Hassan Oktay from Turkey, will be hosting Lobi Stars of Nigeria in the Champions League on Sunday.
Ludovick Aduda, the Gor Mahia Chief Executive Officer has called for patience as they help settle in their new coach, who was in the stands when the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions edged out Malawi's Nyasa Big Bullets.
But the level of competition has gone a notch higher as Gor faces unfamiliar challenger in Lobi Stars of Nigeria in the Champions League, with the former having eliminated Cameroon's USM de Loum in the preliminaries.
"Patience is key," said Aduda Tuesday in Nairobi. "We got off the blocks slowly last season and staked our claim to the continental football. We beat Leone Vegetarianos of Equatorial Guinea before losing out by a solitary goal to eventual winners, Esperance of Tunisia.
"We overcame big teams like South Africa's Supersport United and this season we are firmly in the competition," Aduda added.
In the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Confederation Cup, Sharks and Kotoko will be seeking to find their footing in the competition.
Though Sharks had a feast day beating Djibouti's Arta Solar 8-1, the caliber of opposition they will find in Ghana's Kotoko will give them a realistic yardstick to measure their progress.
Sharks coach William Muluya said the players are motivated and has expressed the team's desire to go all the way to the group stages.
"The atmosphere in training has been very good and the behavioral actions from the players are encouraging. They are willing to get into action and expecting a good outing," said Muluya.
Kotoko, on the other side, will be making their first impression in the Confederation Cup, having skipped the first round of the competition without kicking a ball following the inability of Cameroon to present a representative in the preliminary round.
Kotoko coach Charles Akonnor's squad is led by midfielder Daniel Nii Adjei, who won the 2015 CAF Champions League and 2016 Confederation Cup with Congolese fold TP Mazembe and influential captain Amos Frimpong.
In the 2018 Confederation Cup, Kotoko were eliminated in the preliminary round.
