Encourage youth talent in sports

That Kenya’s Under-18 national football team has made it to the finals of the regional tournament, CECAFA, after beating their Tanzanian counterparts is a milestone that all citizens ought to celebrate.

Even as we wish them a historic victory in the finals, it is important to celebrate their resilience and the fact that they have demonstrated Kenya’s great potential to achieve great results given the right support.

For far too long, Kenyan football has been in a morass. In every outing, whether in search of a berth in continental football or the Fifa World Cup showcase, the national team has performed dismally, often exhibiting the characteristics of shooting stars — bright one moment and fizzled out the next.

Now, however, with the sterling performance of Junior Stars, there is renewed hope that Kenyan football can actually be revived and inspire the country to become as great as it was in the 1980s when it easily dominated the region in such outings as the East Africa Challenge Cup.

What is needed now, more than ever, is to harness the potential that the youth team has shown and work with this to translate the results to the national team, Harambee Stars.

It is important that the Kenyan boys beat Tanzania, which has a more robust national football culture and where fans are more passionate about their clubs compared to their Kenyan counterparts.

Football is a spectator sport. When fans fill stadia, they inspire the best performance from the teams they support. This is the magic that has been missing in Kenya.

Part of the problem has been ticketing and security. It is a shame, for instance, that fans are made to pay for VIP tickets only to find their slots taken by hooligans who have not paid a penny to access the venues. This calls for better fan management by those responsible for ticketing and stadia management.

The other area that needs to be looked into is the remuneration of players.

This has been a big thorn in the flesh of Kenyan football and now that there is political will to improve the fortunes of sports, it is only fair that clubs—and the national team—are re-educated on the need to ensure the welfare of players and technical teams are prioritised for good results.