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The Nairobian

Spier on state of Kenyan football as plans are put in place to develop standards

Football

By Gilbert Wandera | Jul 21, 2016

U17 NATIONAL TEAM Harambee Star's Coach Stanley Okumbi, left, and New Technical Director Andresa Spiers during U17 dinner at Kasarani, Nairobi, on Monday night, July 18, 2016. PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

Newly appointed Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Technical Director Andreas Spier has admitted that it will take at least five years to turn around Kenyan football.

Spier, who has taken charge of the national Under-17 side, pointed out that local football was sorely lacking in tactical discipline and good organisation, something he said required time to deal with.

He pointed out that change would start with the age-group teams as players in this category were still open to learning.

“I have been here for just a few weeks and my assessment of the situation is that a lot needs to be done to improve the tactical discipline and organisation aspects of the sport. To do this, we must begin with the young players who are still in the golden years and with whom we can expect to then see the turnaround in five or six years,” he said.

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LEARNING QUICKLY

“When I took over the Under-17 side I was surprised to find there were many things they did not know and a lot of the things we did were new to the majority of players. I am, however, glad that they are learning very quickly,” he added.

He warned against expecting too much from the Under-17s who will take part in the Cosafa Cup and also play Cameroon in an Africa Youth qualifier match.

“With this team, results should be secondary. We must focus on their development first. However, we will still try to do well in the competitions they will take part in considering that the whole country will be watching them,” he said.

Spier said he would embark on conducting coaching courses countrywide to build the capacity of coaches once he is done with the Under-17 side. To help him roll out the coaching courses, Spier has appointed Michael Nam and David Ouma as his assistants.

“Our biggest project after the Under-17s will be the coaching courses. These are aimed at building the capacity of coaches so that they have the qualifications needed to handle our young players.

“Coach training and education remains a big part of our strategy to bring changes to local football,” he added.

Spier is currently in Madagascar with the national Under-17 side that will take part in the Cosafa Cup that begins tomorrow.