Kudos Harambee Stars for making us proud

DP William Ruto flanked by other leaders presents the CECAFA 2017 trophy to winners Harambee Stars. [Photo: Courtesy]

In the finals of this year’s Council for East and Central Africa Football Association (CECAFA) played at the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos County yesterday, Kenya’s Harambee Stars took on a determined Zanzibar team that saw the home team emerge victorious with a 3-2 penalty shootout score.

That win was what the home team needed to restore public confidence in it after years of lacklustre performance. Indeed, the home team has been doing poorly, earning it lowly ranking on the FIFA index.

The result of the team’s poor showing has been waning public interest, and a high turnover rate of coaches that has not yielded positive results. Wrangles within Football Kenya Federation (FKF) only compounded matters. Harambee Stars’ win will go a long way in boosting morale in the camp as Harambee participates in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, a tournament in which Harambee Stars last featured in 2004. This too, should give Harambee Stars Belgian born tactician Paul Put reason to aim higher.

The win should not, however, make the team sit back and relax. There is still a long way to go to building a formidable team. Mr. Put is still new in the job and is yet to identify the team’s weaknesses and strengths. Let us give him the support he needs. The way Harambee played from the beginning has shown a new sense of purpose.

What remains is for the team to get the much needed exposure through international friendly matches for it to realise its full potential.