Kudos to Starlets for making Kenya proud

As we celebrate Harambee Starlets’ win in the just-concluded 2019 women Cecafa tournament in Tanzania, let us not forget it has been a long and arduous struggle.

This journey can be traced back to 2016 when the Starlets embarked on a mission to secure a slot in that year’s Africa Women Cup of Nations. Amid wrangles within Football Kenya Federation (FKF), the Starlets gave a good account of themselves by beating Algeria. Unfortunately, the mission was not brought to fruition.

Hard work and sheer determination have proven that anything is possible if one sets his or her mind to it. Athlete Eliud Kipchoge’s mantra that no human being is limited must have urged the national women’s team into greater effort that paid off handsomely.

Harambee Starlets victory over Kilimanjaro Queens was sweeter for two facts; that it was a revenge for the loss the Kilimanjaro inflicted on them in the 2016 finals in Goma, DRC and that the Starlets crowned it all by not conceding a single goal, yet went on a scoring spree, netting 24 goals in all the matches they played.

That was no mean feat. For that, we say kudos to Harambee Starlets. If only their male colleagues could replicate such sterling performance in their engagements, Kenya would be on the way to reclaiming the regional supremacy it enjoyed in the 1980s through to 1990s.

Starlets’ victory is a wake-up call for the embattled FKF to pull up its socks and be ready to honour its side of the bargain. Local teams need no more than financial and moral support to excel in their engagements.

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We have very committed and competent players in both teams, but unless they are facilitated and motivated to excel, not much will be coming out of them. Equally important, the Sports ministry should play its part in the proper management of sports in Kenya.