Gor Mahia players David Okoth, Enock Machaka, Lawrence Juma, Dan Sakari and Shariff Musa during the Cecafa Kagame Cup semi-final clash against Al Hilal/HANDOUT Gor Mahia coach Charles Akonnor has welcomed a daunting CAF Champions League draw against Egyptian giants Pyramids FC, insisting the tie will provide an early measure of whether his rebuilt squad is ready to compete at the highest level in Africa.
K’Ogalo will host the first leg of the first preliminary-round tie in Nairobi between September 4 and 6 before travelling to Egypt for the return match a week later. The aggregate winners will meet either South Sudan’s El Merreikh Bentiu or Somalia’s Heegan FC in the second preliminary round.
For Akonnor, the draw is both a formidable challenge and an opportunity to test the progress made since he took charge of the Kenyan champions. “I am always hungry as a coach. I never like to lose,” Akonnor said, underlining the competitive mentality he wants to instil in his team.
The Ghanaian tactician has spent the off-season reshaping his squad, bringing in Daniel Sakari, Humphrey Katasi, Michael Onyango, Enock Machaka, Wesley Otieno, Paul Okoth, David Okoth and Hansel Ochieng as Gor prepare for a season that will demand greater depth and quality.
The scale of the Pyramids challenge, however, is considerable. The Egyptian side won the 2024/25 CAF Champions League and remain one of the continent’s strongest clubs, although Morocco’s FAR Rabat eliminated them in the quarter-finals of the 2025/26 competition.
Akonnor believes Gor’s run in the CECAFA Kagame Cup has given his players valuable exposure before the continental campaign begins. “We know that we have a bigger competition coming ahead of us and we shall give it our best shot,” he said.
The Kenyan champions enter the tie buoyed by a gritty run to the Cecafa Kagame Cup final, where they edged Sudanese giants Al Hilal 8-7 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, having played extra time a man down. For Akonnor, such matches are precisely what Gor need before confronting a club of Pyramids’ stature.
“If we're able to test ourselves and do well against the likes of Al Hilal, who are a big team in Africa, then we've achieved something,” he said. Rather than dwell on Pyramids’ stature, Akonnor wants his players focused on executing their tactical plan.
“When we see the opponents, how they play, it gives us a lot of ideas how to approach the game,” Akonnor said, signalling that Gor will begin detailed preparations for Pyramids well before the opening leg.
The tie also represents a significant moment for a club whose last continental triumph came in 1987, when Gor defeated Tunisia’s Esperance to win the African Cup Winners’ Cup.
But the intervening years have produced frustration in Africa, with K’Ogalo struggling to reproduce the heights of that golden generation. Their return to the Champions League therefore carries expectations that extend beyond simply surviving the preliminary rounds.
Akonnor knows those expectations better than most after guiding Gor to the 2025/26 league title. He has previously described the demands surrounding the club as extraordinary. “With Gor Mahia it’s very demanding,” he said after winning the league title.
Yet he insists the pressure can be harnessed rather than feared. The passionate support surrounding the club, he believes, can provide an important advantage as Gor take on one of Africa’s rising powers. “The support here is massive, and fans are very passionate about the things they do,” Akonnor said.
He has also pointed to the lessons learned during a turbulent domestic campaign as part of the foundation for the new season.
“We’ve also learnt a lot, especially when we lost to Bomet,” he said, describing the defeat as a wake-up call.
Those lessons will now be tested against Pyramids, a side accustomed to continental football and equipped with considerable financial and playing resources.
For Gor, the first leg in Nairobi offers an opportunity to create a platform before the return in Egypt. Akonnor believes the challenge is exactly what his players need as they attempt to make their return to the continent’s premier club competition count. “We’re here to win; we want that trophy,” he said during Gor’s regional campaign.
The road back to continental relevance will therefore begin with one of Africa’s toughest preliminary-round assignments. For Akonnor and his rebuilt Gor side, Pyramids represent more than an opponent: they are the first serious examination of whether K’Ogalo can turn domestic dominance into continental ambition.
