Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa has revealed the targeted number of trained coaches in the country.

The FA has been pushing to have Kenyan coaches attain the highest level of qualification, and Mwendwa has said they are keen to have 10,000 trained and 200 with CAF A licenses.

FKF’s target

“We have trained 6,000 coaches in Kenya from CAF D, C, B, and now A.

“We want to make sure we have 10,000 coaches in the country and want to make sure we have at least 200 coaches at the highest level so that a club can choose from this pool and we have the best of the best coaching the best clubs in the country,” Mwendwa told the media.

This week, the federation held refresher courses for coaches ahead of the new season set to begin in late August. Among those who attended the course are Tusker’s Robert Matano, former KCB’s Zedekiah ‘Zico’ Otieno, Twahir Muhiddin of Bandari, Sofapaka‘s sporting director David Ouma, and former Harambee Stars tactician Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee.

“We have the top coaches in the country here today. These are the guys who have done everything. These are the guys we need to make our players great. We need them all; 25 of them are having their CAF A refresher license,” Mwendwa added.

Coaching requirements

The FA chief emphasized why they will need Premier League clubs to be handled by coaches with CAF A licenses.

“As we go forward, we will require every club to have a CAF A license for their head coach. We are training them now; we will have another class in October, so we will have 50 coaches who have a CAF A license, and every club that recruits locally will be required to hire a coach with a CAF A license.

“This is so important because these are the types of coaches who determine our philosophy, how we play, and the technical abilities of our professional players who play for the national team.

“I cannot emphasise how important this is. We will have a session with them every time the league closes so they can contribute to the game because football is about players, and the people who make players are the teachers, and the teachers are these coaches,” he concluded.

Mwendwa’s comments come after Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba called on Kenyan clubs, especially Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards, to hire local coaches.