Act fast to resuscitate soccer in Kenya

During the European championships in 2000, Germany failed to win a single game at the tournament. This loss was a great eye opener to federation officials in Germany. German soccer standards were dwindling and officials had to think fast to salvage the situation.

The need to improve necessitated forced it to expand the youth programmes, appoint a new coach to the national team and call new players.

All German professional clubs were ordered to set up youth programmes. Initially, there was resistance, owing to the financial implications. This paid off with Germany bouncing back, winning the World Cup in 2014.

The soccer federation in Kenya will soon hold its Annual General Meeting to choose new football administrators.

Whoever is voted in will have a plateful of expectations to revamp soccer in the country. Currently, as the candidates crisscross the country to campaign, they haven’t done much.

Football administration should not be a stepping stone to join politics but more of putting in place the right policies to develop soccer in Kenya.

No one is talking about improving stadia and football structures. Just like Germany, we need to go back to the drawing board and have teams set up mandatory youth programmes.

Establishing soccer academies will ensure continuity of football players.

The national team has not had the best display when it comes to international matches. The on and off performance by the national team is a worrying trend.

The training the team gets before matches is inadequate pointing out the tactical miscalculations by the coaches.

Paying players should not be a privilege. Even after Harambee Stars beat Mauritius, some players are yet to receive their allowances.

The Kenya Premier League has potential to become a world-class league only if football administrators and sports officials stop their cavalier attitude.