FKF boss Nick Mwendwa. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]
It is now official that Kenya’s national football team Harambee Stars are out of contention to play at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The dream of Kenya making a maiden appearance at the biggest stage of world football was ended by Mali on Sunday after the West Africans inflicted a 1-0 loss to the hosts at Nyayo National Stadium.
The same West Africans had thrashed Harambee Stars 5-0 last Thursday in Morocco, where Mali had been forced to play their home matches as they don’t have a Fifa approved stadium back in Bamako.
To say that we did not see this coming would be lying to ourselves. The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has been changing coaches often. This is not healthy for a national team hoping to play at the World Cup for the first time.
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When FKF boss Nick Mwendwa assumed office, he promised to ensure the national team plays at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, that has only been talk from Mwendwa and his team at Kandanda House because their actions have not mirrored that from the start.
If Mwendwa really wanted Harambee Stars to play at the World Cup then why does he keep changing coaches? For a start, former coach Francis Kimanzi was doing well before he was sacked. In came Jacob Mulee and he also did not last much in office as he was soon shown the door.
Then in Mwendwa’s own wisdom, he brought in Turkish tactician Engin Firat on a two-month contract and the results are there for everyone to see. The Turk has been in charge for two matches and all he has to show is six goals conceded with none scored.
This begs the question. Was FKF really serious about taking Harambee Stars to the World Cup? With the national team now out of the World Cup contention and considering they are also not doing well in the qualification for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations later this year, FKF needs to give us answers.
They need to tell us what plan they have for Harambee Stars now and take stock of their actions which led to a disastrous showing by the national team. Enough is enough. We need the best for our national team.
