•The last time the country featured in the competition was in 2019 in Cairo, Egypt, where the national team, Harambee Stars posted a dismal result.
•Tanzania’s Taifa Stars are the only East African team in the tournament that boasts traditional African behemoths such as hosts Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Cameroon, and Tunisia among other
Image: @Cafonline
The Africa Cup of Nations has earnestly kicked off in Cote d’Ivoire with all the continental giants gunning for the bragging rights.
The amount of interest the premier biennial continental showpiece has attracted in the country attests to its global acclaim.
Sadly, local football enthusiasts have been forced to rally behind foreign teams given Kenya is nowhere in the picture. The last time the country featured in the competition was in 2019 in Cairo, Egypt, where the national team, Harambee Stars, posted a dismal result.
But this year has been worse after the country failed to make the final cut following a lackadaisical run in the qualifiers, which were held last year.
Tanzania’s Taifa Stars and Congo are the only East African teams in the tournament that boasts traditional African behemoths such as hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Cameroon, and Tunisia among others.
It pains me a lot that we have been relegated to supporting other teams in the tournament after Harambee Stars missed out on the final list. We need to go back to the drawing board and find out where the rain started beating us.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba has reiterated the government’s desire to steer the national team to victory in 2027 when Kenya will be co-hosting the competition alongside Uganda and Tanzania.
It is encouraging to note that authorities have begun collaborating with the local football association to lay a firm groundwork for a successful competition. This includes closing down all the stadia earmarked for rehabilitation.
However, a lot more needs to be done to get us ready for the tournament especially if we are serious about celebrating a historic maiden victory.
There is a need to ensure we have a squad early enough to afford the coaches sufficient time to mold a winning team. We have witnessed a disturbing trend whereby the technical bench tinkers with the lineup from time to time. Such a move could prove costly and deny us favorable results owing to inconsistency in assembling the team. We must also hire a quality coach who has the right credentials to steer us to the desired results. The hiring process must be done above board and a committee of experts constituted to preside over it.
We need a coach who will spend time in the country and transverse all the counties while rummaging through a wide array of competitions for quality talent.
All those involved in managing football in the country must shove their vested interests aside for the sake of the entire nation.
We are glad that CS Namwamba has hinted at plans to arrange high-profile build-up matches that will sharpen the talons of the national team in readiness for unprecedented victory at the upcoming Afcon.
The importance of such matches cannot be underestimated. We have seen the number of benefits Harambee Stars have derived from their international friendliness against the likes of Qatar, Iran and Russia.
Those who have been following the team’s performance will agree that there has been great improvement in performance compared to when such friendlies were not organised. Lastly, we are hoping that the highly anticipated FKF elections will usher in a formidable team capable of steering the country to its dreams.