This archive report was first published on 6 July 2019.
On Saturday, July 6, 2019, Everton was expected to arrive in Kenya aboard a chartered flight, marking the team's second visit to East Africa.
The team was scheduled to touch down at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 8am, giving them a chance to familiarize themselves with the Kasarani stadium pitch before their match against Kariobangi Sharks.
However, it remained unclear whether Everton would field their first-string side or give their young players from the developmental side a chance to play.
For Nelson Mandela, a 33-year-old businessman residing in Kariobangi, the match was an exciting opportunity for the local team to compete with players from England.
"It is a good thing that they are coming. I watched the match between Hull City and Gor Mahia and it was very exciting. It is good for our players to compete with others from England so that they can get to know how far behind they are, and what needs to be done to close the gap," he said.
Everton's visit to Kariobangi marked the team's second visit to East Africa, following their trip to Tanzania in July 2017 to face Gor Mahia FC.
Kenya's Gor Mahia FC had previously visited Goodison Park in November 2018, marking the first occasion an east African club side had played a Premier League club in the UK.
On the day of the match, Kariobangi Sharks revealed that they would be donning their new Umbro kits, similar to Everton's plans to launch their new 2019-2020 kits made by the same manufacturer.
Tickets for the match were already on sale, with regular tickets going for Sh100 at various retailing booths and VIP tickets retailing at Sh1,000 at mookh.com.
A total of 55,000 regular tickets had been printed, and these would be sold in numerous outlets across Nairobi.
