The performance of the Kenya Under-18 football team has sparked life into the local football terrain.
Even though Junior Stars failed to clinch the 2023 Cecafa Under-18 football championship, they attained the heights few Kenyan national teams have scaled in recent years.
The last time Kenya celebrated a national team’s glory was in 2019 when Harambee Starlets won the Cecafa women’s title in Dodoma, Tanzania.
Junior Stars’ performance in the premier annual regional football showpiece attests to the existence of a wealth of football talent in the country which if meticulously tapped into can yield the desired results.
What the country has lacked over the years are appropriate structures to identify and nurture budding talent. The earlier players are exposed to the global intrigues of the sport, the better.
A large number of players donning the national team jerseys begin doing so when they are already in their prime. It does not surprise, therefore, when we see national team players who struggle with the basics of football such as ball control, passing, and reception.
Those are things that can only be perfected during the formative years of a player.
It’s encouraging to note that the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) have placed relentless efforts in training local coaches in collaboration with the world football governing body, Fifa.
We have a group of experienced tacticians pursuing a six-month course in the Caf ‘A’ coaching license.
With such a vast pool of resourceful tacticians in place, the next logical thing would be to deploy them to the grassroots to develop latent talent.
This calls for a close working relationship between the local football association and the government both of whom can provide the necessary economic and human resources to steer the country forward.
We are glad to see Kenya participating in regional competitions of different age categories. As we speak, we have both the boys' and girls’ teams at the Pan Africa School Games that kicked off at the Kasarani Annex in Nairobi on Tuesday.
We can only hope that the teams will continue to hold together once the tournaments are over. The concept of a yearly national training camp at the Kenya Academy of Sports couldn’t have come at a better time.
Already 2000 players drawn from a wide array of sports have benefitted from the pilot program. The most outstanding products of the camp include the trio of Aldrine Kibet, Amos Wanjala, and Luis Ingavi who comprised the Junior Stars squad that wrapped up second at the just concluded Cecafa U18 championships.
We also extoll the inception of the Talanta Under-19 national football tournament by the Ministry of Sports. The tournament has given birth to some of the most exciting players the country has witnessed this far.
Hopefully, such ideas will remain in place for years to come just to ensure we have a constant supply chain of players for our national teams.
Another encouraging scenario is the presence of scouting panels in national competitions. Most of them are individuals who boast a wealth of experience as Kenyan Premier League and national team players. They most definitely know what it takes to succeed at that stage.
With such structures in place, there is no doubt that the country is bound for greatness in the competitive world of football. All we need is to commit ourselves to every program we have rolled out in the country to enhance the quality of our game.