Football was first introduced to the Kenyan people by the British settlers in the early 20th century. The game quickly picked up and become popular to most of the Kenyans pastime because it was simple and could be played almost anywhere. The Kenyan football governing body was established in 1960 to oversee football in the country. After some few years, several Kenyans most popular clubs were formed but basing on their communities. This included A.F.C Leopards, Gor Mahia and Reunion.
The development of the passionate game widely supported by Kenyans of all ages has faced a number of challenges year in year out. Most of the Kenyan football fans feel betrayed by how football is dragging on its development be it at a club or national team level. Tribalism and corruption has taken over and it is as a thick cloud covering and preventing the growth of the Kenyan football.
Kenyan football was considered to be in its greatest heights in the 70s and 80s, when the famous local football clubs Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards were a force to reckon with in Africa. The national team was not left behind either, but what went wrong down the road is highly debatable. Here, are a few suggestions on what caused the problems that have dodged Kenyan football.
Corruption
Corruption has overtaken a bigger percentage of the Kenyan football and it seems to be controlling everything in football today. Many talents have gone to waste and more are ignored since the guys doesn’t have their own godfathers to help them get a chance of exercising and showing out their skills.
It is openly evident that for any sport to be successful, it all starts with nurturing the talents from a young age. The Kenyan football academies have disappeared one by one and non can be identified as of today. Poor management and ignorance of the talents has lead to this since the governing body of the Kenyan football has got fixed minds on certain players and they are selected to the national team even if they are out of form.
Disappearance of the academies is also as a result of poor funding of the young and promising talents. This is widely lacking despite the abundance of young local talent especially evident during national schools games competition.
Poor Management and Governance of the Football
A successful football team should be made up of talented sportsmen who should be scouted from all across the country. The Kenyan national football team has always lacked in representation and failed to take advantage of the various football leagues countrywide to identify talented players for each and every position. The main result of such is that Kenya has never qualified for any major tournament in the world.
Lately, success in football does not only depend on the footballers but also on the management team too. They play a prominent role in marketing the local football leagues and managing football affairs in the country, but what is seen in the Kenyan scenario? Wrangles left, right and center.
Whenever an election nears, then the wrangles and numerous factions facing each other in the courts are the normal scene. Once elected, they forget the sole purpose they were elected and play a significant role in running down football in the country.
Remuneration
World wide footballers are expected to provide entertainment and silverware in any tournament that they take part in and this is the main expectation of the fans and management. Most of the Kenyan footballers are demoralized even before the game starts and they loose moral of competing of any silverware. Football is their source of living and as we understand all people have their source of living. Our Kenyan footballers should be paid well for us to get the results that we are always dreaming of.
For the Kenyan football to get back to its position and for the Kenya to be ranked among the top 50 of the FIFA rankings worldwide, some of the things like corruption, poor management and ignorance in the football sector should be dealt with. The younger talents should be identified and required facilities should be provided to them for our football to pick up from where it left in the late 80s.
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The post Challenges Facing the Kenyan Football appeared first on Msema Kweli.