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CAF Confederation Cup: Nairobi Utd seek redemption against Wydad AC
07th February, 2026 08:27 AM
Debutants Nairobi United have shifted their attention to continental assignments when they host Moroccan side Wydad AC in their second-last outing of CAF Confederation Cup Group B assignments at Kasarani Stadium on Sunday, February 8, 2026.
Speaking ahead of the match, the side’s Technical Director, Salim Ali, has revealed that the team will be putting their 2-1 midweek defeat against APS Bomet in a Football Kenya Federation Premier League encounter behind them as they host Wydad for a dead rubber clash.
Nairobi United are already eliminated from the Continental showpiece after suffering all of their four Group B outings, marking a premature ending of their CAF campaign after booking qualification by stunning Africa’s giants in the preliminaries enroute to group stages.
”We are trying to shift the mentality after the midweek defeat against APS Bomet. It was not really good for the team, but I believe that we want to bounce back by playing against Wydad. We want to showcase our good discipline at home before we leave for Maniema for our last group match,” Salim said.
Heads held high
Salim Ali has also revealed that Naibois are aiming to finish their stab at the CAF Confederation Cup with their heads held high. ”We are trying to motivate the players to try and give us positive results. They have been performing well in terms of training. For us, we want to finish with honour. It is a good experience that we have had as a team, at the end of the day, we want to finish our last two matches positively.” Salim Ali said.
Aside from crushing out of the competition at group stages, Naibois have also lost off the pitch in matters of CAF participatory fund disbursements.
Financial setback
After initially pocketing $400,000 (Ksh51.9 million) for reaching the group stage, the team will miss out on $550,000 (Ksh71.4 million), which will be awarded to the eight teams that will reach the Confederation Cup quarter-final.
The lucrative amount could have been a shot in the arm for the Football Kenya Federation Premier League club, based on the financial constraints bedevilling most Kenyan clubs.
Nairobi United has endured a difficult debut at the continental level, losing all four of its Group B matches so far and sitting at the bottom of the pool with zero points. Even if the outfit were to secure victories in their remaining two fixtures, their maximum possible points tally would still fall short of the qualification threshold.
