17 December 2011
After years of being the top nation in the East and Central Africa region’s football, Kenya is now no better than Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti.
On the flipside, Uganda continues to soar higher after their record 12th title in the Cecafa Senior Challenge this year. They came from down to beat Rwanda in the finals on a penalty shoot-out to assert their status as the kings of East African soccer. Tanzania who were the defending champions finished fourth.
For Kenya it was the second successive year that Harambee Stars — the country’s national football team — together with Somalia and Djibouti took an early exit from the region’s Senior challenge, a tournament they have won five times before, being the second most successful side in the history of the competition after Uganda.
But after defeats to Malawi and Sudan, Kenya only had one win to boast of as they once again exited the championships during the first round. “It does not augur well with our ambitions as a nation. We have to pull up our socks,” said James Siang’a a former Kenyan goalkeeper and former national team coach.
“In the past, Kenya were always among the favourites. Now we are mere participants. It’s a shame,” adds Siang’a, the only coach to have taken an East African club to the semi finals of the reorganized Africa Champions League.
Last year in Tanzania, Kenya lost to Uganda and Ethiopia and bid the competition an early farewell, the first time the country had exited the tournament without a win. “At least this time we came back with a win, but it’s a shame we are sinking deeper,” says veteran youth coach Bob Oyugi.
Analysts say it will take some time before Kenya regains its status as one of the big soccer nations in the region. “Kenya has put its house in order with recent elections, but they will have to be patient. Rebuilding the game will take some time. The new federation must invest heavily on youth development and attract corporate participation in their programmes. Otherwise they will continue plummeting,” said CECAFA secretary general Nicholas Musonye.
Things are not so bleak though, Kenya is in the qualifiers to the 2014 World Cup and the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. The Harambee Stars have been grouped with Nigeria, Malawi and Namibia in the race for the 2014 World Cup ticket and still have a pre-qualifier for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations against Togo.
Coach Kimanzi says the Senior Challenge is now history and he will build a team that he believes can make it to the Nations Cup and the World Cup. “It is now time to work on our shortcomings and build on our abilities. We are not an inferior side, we believe in ourselves,” said Kimanzi.
Kenya will watch as the 16 Nations battle in Gabon and Equitorial Guinea in the Africa Nations Cup, a tournament many believe the Harambee Stars would have qualified for had it not been for poor planning. Kenya lost to lowly Guinea Bissau on the first day of the qualifiers and never recovered.
“Had Kenya beaten Guinea Bissau they would be at the Nations Cup. But they were not focused,” says Musonye.
For Uganda coach Bobby Williamson, it is all about stability, which is enabling the team to get good results. “Hard work and perserverance,” said he said when asked how they had achieved their success.
“I’ve got to thank [the players] for their dedication and their professionalism, it’s not easy I can tell you” he added.
Years of infighting, corruption and mismanagement of the sport have not helped Kenya’s course. The country is just coming back after the October elections of the federation that finally ended the wrangling. But the results of the fights is evident with the current ranking of the county in the world and the recent performance.
Since 2008 when the country was ranked 68th in the world, the country has continued to plummet as the government watched. Now Kenya is 136th in Africa and below Uganda, Sudan and Tanzania in East Africa.
“The government cannot run away from blame. When things started going bad with the formation of a private company (the Football Kenya Limited) to run the game, the government stood and watched. Now we are paying the price,” says former Kenyan keeper Mahmoud Abbas.
After the October elections, the new office led by Sam Nyamweya brought back Francis Kimanzi, but he has had such a short time to bring the desired results.
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