Youth teams doing well
The inspiring performances by Kenya’s age-group football teams in their international outings are a clear manifestation that the country can thrive with focused and sound leadership from the Football Kenya Federation and support from the government.
The qualification by Rising Stars, the national under-20 men’s football team, for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations at the Council of East and Central Africa Football (CECAFA) Under-20 Championships that ended yesterday in Dar es Salaam, shows that there is enormous talent in the country that needs to be tapped and nurtured.
The team qualified for the AFCON finals despite losing to hosts Tanzania 2-1 last evening. The Rising Stars also reached the CECAFA Under-20 final last year where they lost to Uganda 2-1 in Kisumu.
This is the second time Rising Stars is qualifying for the AFCON Under-20 championship since the inaugural 1979 event where they fell in the first round.
Kenya had qualified for the 2017 AFCON but the team was disqualified from the event for age cheating.
It’s good to note that consistency and good recruitment of talented players has been the key to the Rising Stars’ improved performances. Players like Ibrahim Wanzala, Aldrine Kibet and Amos Wanjala have stood out for the last two years, with Salim Babu and Anthony Akhulia upholding their roles as coaches.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s Junior Starlets are taking part in the ongoing FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The team that lost to England 2-0 in its opening match was due to play Korea yesterday, making history as the first Kenyan team to compete at a football world cup.
The teams have thrived despite the mismanagement and power struggle at FKF.
The country can thrive not only in football, but in other sports as well if we get it right in talent search and development and management of sports.
