Kenya coach drops seven players

NAIROBI - Kenya coach Antoine Hey has dropped seven players who did not bring letters from their clubs giving them permission to join the national team’s training camp. The latest twist in a club versus country row, centring on how much time players spend with the national team ahead of a 2010 World Cup qualifier, comes ahead of Kenya’s Group Two final round qualifier against Nigeria on June 7. “Only two brought the letters. I have dropped the seven who did not bring the letters,” German Hey told reporters at the training ground in the outskirts of Kenya’s capital Nairobi. Hey has been locked in a row with Kenyan Premier League (KPL) clubs after four Mathare United players left the national training camp without permission before a qualifier in March after their club recalled them to prepare for a league game. The KPL wants players to join the camp four days before a qualifying match, but Hey, backed by the ruling body Football Kenya Limited, wants players for four days a week before the Nigeria game. Hey had asked nine players to bring commitment letters on Monday or they would be dropped. Only two, David Okello and Chrispine Olando from Thika United, brought them. The players who are dropped are Wilson Oburu (Sofapaka), Evans Wandera (Sofapaka), James Situma (Sofapaka), Edgar Ochieng (Mathare United), Joseph Shikokoti (Tusker), Fred Ajuang (Tusker). AGENCIES

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Kenya coach drops seven players