Spier remains hopeful: Harambee Stars U-17 team travels to Cameroon for qualifier clash
Football
By
Gilbert Wandera
| Aug 04, 2016
Despite winning just one match at the Cosafa tournament in Mauritius, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Technical Director Andreas Spier is upbeat about the future of the national under-17 team.
The team travels to Cameroon this weekend to play in the first leg of their Africa Youth qualifier.
They finished fourth at the Cosafa Cup after being allowed to compete in the semi-finals at the expense of Zambia who were disqualified for allegedly fielding over age players.
But Spier insists the Southern Africa tournament provided a good training ground and experience for his young charges.
“It was a good experience for our players and coaching staff. It gave us a good platform to evaluate the players because for the first time they were exposed to international matches,” he said.
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Spier said Kenya’s was the youngest team in the tournament and they found it difficult to compete with stronger players.
“I don’t think Zambia were the only team with overage players. Progressing to the semi-finals was a good thing for us but more importantly, we have given our players international experience and now we know those who can and cannot perform under pressure,” said Spier.
Spier further said they could have scored more goals in the one-week tournament but overall remains satisfied with the team’s performance.
“At least we managed to beat Madagascar who have been together for two years and this gives us hope because it means that in another few years we will be at the top of our game,” he observed.
Spier once again warned against rushing the team insisting that it takes time to get them to the top.
“Building a successful team takes years and not just three weeks of camping. This is what we need with this young side.”
The team has been camping for four weeks after a rigorous recruitment process. They will break camp after the Cameroon match. During the Cosafa tournament, Kenya lost to South Africa (4-0), Malawi (5-0) but still made it to the semi-finals after Zambia were eliminated. They met Malawi again in the play-offs where they went down 2-0. They beat Madagascar 2-1.