Tusker beat Tanzanian club Ashanti United 1-0 in their opening match of the Mapinduzi Cup tournament on Thursday night in Zanzibar.
The former Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions win came a day after another Kenyan side AFC Leopards lost 1-0 to Tanzanian giants Simba.
Tusker’s impressive start mirrors their performance in the same competition last year where they reached the final but lost 1-0 to Azam.
On Thursday, it was left to youthful midfielder Joshua Oyoo to score the only goal of the match in the 23rd minute to help his side go to second spot in Group ‘C’ with maximum points.
Defending champions Azam of Tanzania are top of the group after they beat Spice Stars of Tanzania 2-0 in another match played on Thursday. Azam got their goals through Ugandan international Brian Umony and Himid Mao.
Elsewhere, KPL has changed its rules regarding the signing of foreign players.
While previously clubs were required to sign five foreign players and field only three at the same time, the new rules adopted by KPL allow clubs to sign five foreigners and field the same number in a particular match.
The change comes a few weeks after top sides Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards requested that the number of foreigners be increased to at least eight in a bid to boost their performance in next year’s continental football.
KPL Chief Executive Officer Jack Oguda said he hopes the new rule will raise football standards in the league as local players get more competition from the foreigners.
“We appreciate the fact that local talent needs to be nurtured but at the same time we need to raise our standards and bringing in more foreigners will help us achieve this target,” he told the KPL website.
The new rule will also mean that clubs spend more money in getting players considering the need to get work permits for the imports.
Already, there has been a significant increase in the number of foreign players signed by local clubs in the current transfer window.
By GILBERT WANDERA, The Standard
