I hope
that Kenyan football fans will not get carried away by the recent success of
the national team. The fact of the matter is that the stars have yet to play
any high quality opposition. Playing a Togolese team that arrived a day before
the match and had no preparations is completely different from what they are
likely to face if they do qualify for the Africa nations cup.
The KFF
should be commended for their efforts in trying to ensure that Kenya qualifies
for the 2004 nations cup. However one cant help but notice that they are
spending all their efforts on the national team while ignoring the other more
important aspects of Kenya football namely the national league and youth
football.
In order
for a nation to be succesful in the long run, its football program has to built
from the bottom up and not from the top down which is what KFF is doing. It is
a well known fact that the KFF is using the annual grant from FIFA to fund the
national team instead of using it for its intended purpose which is youth football.
As a result, lots of money is been wasted on useless trips notably the recent
one to the UK in which they played against third string opposition.
This
money could be better put to use by setting up youth development academies in
parts of Kenya where there is potential talent such as Kisumu, Kakamega,
Mombasa and specific parts of Nairobi. Senegal owe their meteoric rise to the
establishment of football academies all over that country which begum more than
a decade ago.
The KFF
should also try to source for sponsorship for self supporting clubs. Attendance
at league matches has been abysmal of late primarily because the league is
dominated by institutional teams which have no fan base and as such cannot draw
crowds. It is well known fact that the fall of self supporting clubs has
coincided with the fall of football standards in this country. Which is why it
is imperative that the KFF convince companies of the benefit of supporting
these clubs.
And
finally, it is readily apparent that
Jacob Mulee, while a good coach, does not have what it takes to take Kenya to
the next level. Too often he has selected players based on friendship rather
than performance. And despite winning quiete a few games recently, the
performance of Harambee stars has been less than convincing particularly in
midfield. KFF ought to source for a qualified foreign technical advisor under
whom Mulee can work and learn more.