Mr President, Harambee Stars’ trip to Brazil won’t help them

President Uhuru Kenyatta meets Stars players  and technical bench at State House. The President is taking the team to watch World Cup in Brazil. [PHOTO: DENNIS OKEYO]

Dear Mr President,

Allow me to address you though this uncouth channel of communication, for there was no other better way to get your attention. Otherwise, I would have been happy to drop by for a cup of tea. I’m not as fastidious, so, even strungi (black tea) would have been fine for me. But since me and you know that, it would never come to pass, I go ahead and write my missive.

It’s about our national football team, Harambee Stars. “What have they done now,” you may be wondering. They have done nothing, Sir; they rarely do anything nowadays anyway. It has everything to do with that memorable trip to Brazil you have made possible.

Mr President Sir, it being a trip to die for, you bet any Kenyan would have killed just to get a boarding pass to Brazil, the spiritual land of football, where the sport is a religion. But for the national team, this trip means nothing to them. Don’t let them cheat you that it will help them improve their Fifa world rankings. It won’t. In fact, despite making that trip and cheer (or jeer) as Argentina teach Nigeria some footballing reasons, they will remain what they are; the disappointing lot, at times.

It’s an open secret why Harambee Stars, despite having some of the best football talents in African, has never played at the highest level. Let me digress. In Christianity and them that prophesy the faith believe that there is a place they call Heaven (and of course Hell); the land where milk and honey flows…having pearly gates and streets of gold, one will one day walk through those gates, step on that street, and come face to face with Jesus; oh, this eternal dwelling place, which is home for all of God’s family.

For a Christian to go to this place of great joy and delight, they need, amongst other deeds, live a righteous life, belief that Christ died for their sins and repent…

It takes much more than just proclaiming that Jesus died for our sins to go to Heaven. In the midst of frustration(s), perspective and perseverance are the keys to continuing the battle that must be fought.  But at no one time, will Angel Gabriel take a believer to see how Heaven is, for them to desire the place.

Likewise, Mr President, let the team get to the World Cup the hard way. While it seems a good gesture to sponsor the lads for a trip to the World Cup, it would do little to motivate and inspire them to be in the 2018 Russia finals.

Other than cheer their favourite team(s) in Brazil, Harambee Stars won’t return home with anything more than players suffering from jet-lag and with bags full of goodies.

So, for us to say that this tour will encourage them to do better as they watch standards of the best teams in the world is just preposterous.