Our game craves for radical surgery

After suffering an embarrassing Euro 2000 exit, Germany, now the world champions, went back to the drawing board and came up with a system that values coaches, nurtures indigenous talent and more importantly, insists on competent leadership in football. With the latest developments in Kenyan football, Harambee Stars being forced by Lesotho to miss international action for two years, positives can come out if the right thing is done.

Those put in charge of football must be above reproach, competent and committed enough to run the sport. Imperatively, changing values as well as employing full-time coaches and upgrading facilities, should be Kenya’s new focus.

First, the sports ministry should be more vibrant than it is. We should not only hear them when they want to take corrective actions. Second, FKF needs an urgent overhaul. The FKF officials should immediately reignite youth football activities in all counties and require Premier League clubs to develop more homegrown young players. National team formation is vital.

As a country we should have a particular strategy on and off the pitch. This includes age of players, type of coaches and playing technique. Notably, coaches should focus on developing fluid formations that require the sort of agile players who would previously have been overlooked. We insist that only a radical surgery will rescue our once ‘beautiful’ game from the current doldrums. Cosmetic changes meant to appease some greedy individuals, claiming to run the sport, will only add the final nail on Kenya’s football coffin.