Then their coach walked to the press conference and blamed the air.
Not the referee. Not the pitch. The oxygen.
WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY AT NYAYO - FROM REPUTABLE SOURCES
Let me be clear. It was not Tusker FC coach who said it. It was the losing coach - Al-Ahli Wad Madani head coach Aliyu Zubairu, a Nigerian tactician who coaches the Sudanese club.
According to K24 Digital, in their report titled “Kenya does not have enough oxygen: Al-Ahli Medani coach said after Tusker defeat”, that Nairobi does not have enough oxygen and that is why his team lost.
This is his exact quote, as captured by K24 Digital at Nyayo on Saturday September 12, 2026:
“Kenyan weather, sometimes you do not have enough oxygen, so when you are coming from where you have enough oxygen and you go to where there is no enough oxygen, there is definitely a kind of natural effect that will affect you. Some of the midfielders could not get themselves very well and they could not cope.”
Hivileo.co.ke, another reputable Kenyan sports website, in their article “Not Enough Oxygen: confirmed same remarks by Al Ahli Wad Madani Coach Said After Tusker Defeat, further adding more:
“When it comes to the issue of tactics, sometimes it has to do with the weather. You know, in Kenya, sometimes you don’t have enough oxygen. So when you are coming from somewhere where you have enough oxygen and you go to where there’s not enough oxygen, there’s definitely a kind of natural effect that will affect you.”
And then he added:
“Some of the midfielders could not get themselves together very well, and they couldn’t come up with what we expected from them.”
So two independent reputable sources - K24 and Hivileo - both reported the same bizarre excuse. This is not made up.
THE GAME ITSELF - HOW TUSKER WON
Tusker FC really needed this win. In the first leg in Kigali, despite being 2-0 up they threw it away and the match ended 2-2. So yesterday was a must-win.
According to the match report from K24 Digital and photos posted by Football Kenya Federation on Facebook on Saturday from Nyayo Stadium, Al Ahli actually started better. Wagdi Awad got the first chance but missed.
Then Tusker did what Kenyan champions do. Chrispine Erambo scored the only goal of the match. 1-0 to the Brewers.
Aggregate 3-2. Following this win, Tusker FC, the 12-time Kenyan Premier League champions and current FKF Cup champions, are through to the second preliminary round of the 2026/27 CAF Confederation Cup.
IS THERE ANY TRUTH IN THE OXYGEN STORY?
To be honest, I will give him small credit. Nairobi is at 1,795 meters above sea level. The air here is thinner than in Sudan, which is mostly low-lying.
Sports science says teams from sea level can get tired faster in Nairobi. That part is true.
But come on. Tusker FC were breathing the same Nairobi air, played in the same stadium and for same 90 minutes yet they scored.
If oxygen was the problem, both teams would be on oxygen cylinders or we would have witnessed countless water breaks along the match.
That is why Kenyans on X are not buying it. One fan wrote, “Tusker must have imported their own oxygen from Ruaraka.”
According to K24 Digital, the same coach also admitted the real reason:
“So we came, we played, and we did not use our own chances, while Tusker got their opportunity and made use of it.”
There you have it. They missed chances while Tusker used theirs. That is football. No need to blame oxygen.
TUSKER COACH SILENT, FOCUS ON NEXT ROUND
Tusker FC head coach Julien Mette has not responded to the oxygen drama. According to Pulse Sports Kenya, Mette had earlier said his focus is on building the team for the season after a tough CECAFA Kagame Cup tournament where Tusker were knocked out early.
Now with this CAF win, Tusker has momentum.
For Al-Ahli coach Zubairu, it is back to Sudan with a story that Kenyans will laugh about for weeks. "Tusker vs oxygen". And Tusker won.
What do you think? Is Nairobi altitude a real problem or was this just a poor excuse after losing? Let me know in the comments.
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