Kenya exit pre-Chan friendlies over conditions in Tanzania

Kenya coach Benni McCarthy said on Wednesday it was the right move to withdraw from pre-African Nations Championship (Chan) football friendlies in Tanzania this week, citing the poor quality of the pitch.

Former South Africa international McCarthy pulled his team only hours before they were due to play Chan co-hosts Tanzania on Monday in the first match of a four-nation tournament that also includes Uganda and Senegal.

"We went there with good intentions but... the conditions were not satisfactory," McCarthy told reporters in Nairobi, specifying that it was the pitch quality that concerned them.

"The team and technical bench came out and said if we wanted to continue in the tournament it would set us back majorly. It probably meant losing players to injuries before the start of Chan."

Kenya face a tough group in Chan, which starts on 2 August, with two-time champions Morocco, Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola.

"We thought it best to come back and have the best possible training to optimise our chances because the group we're based in is the group of death," said McCarthy.

The biannual Chan competition is being jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania for the first time.

The tournament ends on 30 August with the final in Nairobi.