•Harambee Stars' head coach, Engin Firat, has departed from the long-standing custom of Kenyan tacticians being restrained from speaking candidly during press conferences.
•The Turkish gaffer stated that he was sick of burying his head in the sand and felt a pressing need to speak his mind, stating emphatically that he was not in the business of selling dreams.
Image: FILE
Harambee Stars' head coach, Engin Firat, has departed from the long-standing custom of Kenyan tacticians being restrained from speaking candidly during press conferences.
After simmering with rage for a very long time, the Turkish gaffer eventually decided it was time to vent out his true feelings in a candid press conference held at Two Rivers in Ruaka, Nairobi on Sunday.
Firat challenged the local governing body to come out of its cocoon and face the unattractive truth.
He stated that he was sick of burying his head in the sand and felt a pressing need to speak his mind, stating emphatically that he was not in the business of selling dreams.
The Turk urged FKF to start organising friendly matches with European superpowers to help hoist the country to the desired standards, instead of dabbling in pointless fixtures against regional minnows.
The outspoken tactician claimed that previous federations enjoyed pulling the wool over the eyes of local football fans by purposefully pairing the Harambee Stars with weaker continental opponents to create the impression that Kenya had mastered its act.
Firat has vowed to break from the tradition, adding that organising a friendly encounter against the highly-ranked Iranian team signaled a fresh beginning in his tenure.
Firat made the remarks while fielding questions from journalists who sought to know why Kenya had chosen to pick Iran for an international friendly match that has been set for Tehran on March 28.
Securing a competitive friendly match against one of the renowned European nations is a priority for Firat. He pointed out that Harambee Stars had never participated in a friendly match against a European team.
How soon this will be implemented remains to be seen. What's important is that there are people who are finally willing to take the bull by the horns.
Only recently, the newly constituted Kenya Kwanza administration unveiled a robust plan to steer the national team towards a World Cup qualification.
But given the dubious history of the Harambee Stars, Firat questioned how anyone could speak so confidently about their chances of qualifying for the World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations.
The tactician reckons Kenya's dream of a maiden World Cup appearance is still far-fetched, and there is need to exercise a great deal of patience as the country puts appropriate measures in place to accomplish such lofty ambitions.
He took issue with the country's football infrastructure, saying it had gotten progressively worse over time. He also noted that local players called up to the national team still looked very rusty because the Kenyan Premier League started late.
I concur with Firat that building a successful team will take time because he needs to first identify the ideal players with personalities that mesh well together before deciding on the best system to help them succeed.
I also wish to echo his sentiments that all parties involved in managing football in the country should stop playing pointless blame games and start looking for solutions together.
And finally, it's my hope FKF will allow Harambee Starlets head coach Charles Okere to assemble his squad and embark on immediate preparations even as we frantically eye qualification in the forthcoming future World Cup.