Holders Kariobangi Sharks shocked in FKF Elite Youth League

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) are mulling over ways to expand the Elite Youth League to other regions.

This follows the successful kick-off of the second edition of the competition at the weekend at Moi International Sports Centre (MISC), Kasarani in Nairobi.

Teams competed in Under-13, 15 and 17 categories.

“In essence, what we're attempting to do is modernize youth leagues across the nation,” said FKF Nairobi County secretary general Dickson Doyo.

“It won't just happen in Nairobi, though. Since this is the country's capital, we've launched the program here to expand it to places like Mombasa and Kisumu."

He said that he expects the competition to blossom given the widespread interest it was receiving. 

Doyo allayed fears that limiting national team selection to players participating in the league might lock out several others who were not taking part in the competition. 

“We are still debating how to manage the leagues on a local level in the wards and constituencies. All Kenyan teams will have the chance to demonstrate their talent, and they will also be taken into consideration when forming the junior national teams,” he said.

Doyo stated that sufficient safeguards had been put in place by the federation to ensure the leagues ran without any operational hiccups.

"We'll treat the Under-13 group like a festival. The competitions will take place at one location with all teams present and last all day," he said.

"The Under-15 and Under-17 teams, however, play in eleven-aside formations, so it will be challenging to get them all to the same venue. Therefore, we will use various locations on various days for them.

In some of the matches held at the weekend, the tournament’s dark horses Hakari shocked defending champions Kariobangi Sharks 3-1 in the Under-13 category.

Sharks crashed again in their second match losing 5-1 to Express.

In other Under-13 matches, Soka Talent beat Ligi Ndogo 3-2 while Ujasimba collected a walkover after Green Santos failed to honour the fixture. 

Cheza Sports beat Glep 4-2 while Soka Talent crashed 1-0 to Volcano in their second match of the day. Ligi Ndogo bounced back from their earlier defeat to Soka Talent with a comfortable 2-0 win over Green Santos. 

Legacy were awarded a walkover after Generation Sharp snubbed the match while Acakoro edged out Pumwani 3-2.

In the Under-15 category, Cheza Sport beat Blue Bombers 3-0 while Express beat Genesis Sport by a similar margin. Kariobangi Sharks asserted authority early in the competition after thrashing Indomitable 6-1.