• Veteran tactician Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee who sat on the scouting panel deployed by Namwamba, said he was awed by the amazing pool of talent he witnessed in the tournament.
• The title-winning Busia County head coach Edwin Sakwa said the country requires more of such tournaments to ensure a constant supply chain of players for the national teams.
Image: HANDOUT
Kenya have rolled out a lofty plan to steer the national football teams to the most coveted global competitions, including the World Cup.
The blueprint was unveiled by Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba while awarding teams that excelled at the Talanta Hela Under-19 national football tournament that concluded at Nyayo Stadium on Tuesday.
Homabay County ran away with the boy’s title while Busia was crowned the girls’ champions, both teams pocketing a Sh5m prize purse.
But the hallmark of the competition was the unveiling of a strong 30-member squad for both boys and girls who report to camp on Friday. The select team was drawn from the 16 teams that participated in the week-long national finals.
Namwamba expressed confidence in the potential of the budding players to steer the country to unprecedented heights.
“I have a word with this scouts. They have had an incredibly difficult job in selecting the team. We identified 30 boys and 30 girls and so we shall be having a total of 60 players in camp which begins immediately,” Namwamba remarked.
“I want to assure you that through these talents, we will take Kenyan football to the top. We are doing everything possible to invest in our junior national teams,” he added.
Image: HANDOUT
Namwamba believes the nation boasts sufficient talent to successfully contest for global honours.
“Our junior women’s national team, the Rising Starlets, came only a step short of qualifying for the 2024 U20 World Cup that will be held in
Colombia. Many players from the Talanta Hela program will join the team next year,” Namwamba stated.
“You have also seen our Under-18 team, Junior Stars, who performed very well in the Cecafa tournament. We also had teams in the just-concluded U15 Pan Africa School Games qualifiers at Moi Stadium, Kasarani. We’ll also enter a team for the U17 World Cup qualifiers.”
The CS pledged to field Kenyan teams in all competitions to increase chances of excelling at the international stage.
“We shall be entering teams in all age categories in Cecafa, Caf and Fifa levels. That’s the only way we can grow our football. We are now prepared to name the boys’ Under-20 team to start preparations for the upcoming World Cup. I’ve told our football federation to start preparing the team early enough.”
Whereas the country has not had a very encouraging history in the World Cup qualifiers in the past, Namwamba reckons time is now ripe to write a new narrative.
“I don’t want Kenya to enter as a participant. I want us to enter the competition as a serious contender,” he said.
Namwamba lavished praise on the inaugural Talanta Hela football tournament, saying it has helped unearth a depth of talent that can transform the fortunes of Kenya’s national teams on the international front.
“A truly historic initiative. A very exciting journey that has been traveled by both the national government and the county governments,” Namwamba remarked.
Image: HANDOUT
“I want to thank the Kenya Academy, the Football Kenya Federation, the Kenya Academy of Sports as well as all the scouts who were part of the tournament.
“We began this journey in August with a national talent camp. We invited 2000 boys and girls. I want to congratulate the 16 boys and 16 girls who survived the regional championships. I want to thank Nyeri County for hosting the playoffs.”
Namwamba said it would only be fair to expect a brighter future for the Kenyan national teams given the new approach the government has taken in assembling lethal squads.
“You have been interacting with some of the best players Kenya has ever produced like Musa Otieno who started his football career at Ofafa Jericho High School before he became the t1op player that he was,” he told the players.
“They never had the kind of structure that we have today. We provided the money for the school games because we did not want any child to fail to participate in the competition because of constrained finances.”
The CS promised a more vibrant national tournament in the following edition.
“The championships next year will be more vibrant, and on a bigger scale. Besides playing for the school team we offered you another chance to play for your county.”
Veteran tactician Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee who sat on the scouting panel deployed by Namwamba, said he was awed by the amazing pool of talent he witnessed in the tournament.
“We’ve seen a lot of talent in both the boys and girls categories. The tournament has allowed us to peer into the scoop of talent we have in this country,” Mulee said.
Mulee reckons the rise of Talanta Hela bodes well for the future of Kenyan football terrain.
“Unlike when we only managed to get a single talent from a county through other selection procedures, this competition has provided a large pool of 16 teams with a total of 400 players whom we can easily pick from,” Mulee said.
“Regardless of whether or not their teams won, the players have, without a doubt gained invaluable experience after featuring in the competition.”
The gaffer, who currently guides Gaspo FC in the Kenya Women’s Premier League, predicted a brighter future for the government initiative that seeks to bring talent to the fore.
“This is the first edition and we expect to see better things in the subsequent editions in terms of the quality of the game,” Mulee remarked.
Image: ANGWENYI GICHANA
However, Mulee reiterated the need to deploy well-trained coaches at the grassroots to impart knowledge in a bid to narrow the gap witnessed during the competition.
“We saw a team beaten 24-0 and another 11-0. That alone shows you the gap that exists in women’s football. We want to harmonise things with the Ministry of Sports just to ensure that we don’t experience such a scenario in the future. This requires us to put adequate measures in place to standardise the quality of coaching the players get in each of the participating counties.”
Like Namwamba, Mulee reckons Kenya is about to bask in glory if the government sustains all measures introduced to improve the quality of the sport in the country.
“The Talanta Hela tournament has the potential to improve the fortunes of our national football teams in terms of player selection. We’ve always had a limited pool, especially in the age categories,” Mulee quipped.
Image: HANDOUT
“Only recently we fielded a team that made it to the Cecafa Under-18 championship final in Kisumu. However, the team seemed to have been assembled in a short time and from a limited pool of players available to the coaches.
“I believe the scouts will be sharing the list of the players they have identified in this tournament with coach Salim Babu for consideration. The
Kenya women The under-20 team head coach also has a larger pool of talented players to choose from after this tournament.”
Another scout, celebrated ex-Kenyan international forward Allan Wanga, added: “We never got to have such a glorious opportunity during our playing days. The CS has done a tremendous job of coming up with such a brilliant idea which will go a long way in turning around the fortunes of Kenyan footballers.”
The title-winning Busia County head coach Edwin Sakwa said the country requires more of such tournaments to ensure a constant supply chain of players for the national teams.
“This is what we’ve been lacking and I believe that, if well implemented, the concept will bridge the gap between Kenya and the nations that have dominated the scene for long,” Sakwa said.