Opinion: Kenya Shouldn’t Be a Lifetime World Cup Spectator, Let’s Work Towards Joining Big Boys

The biggest sporting extravaganza in the world, the FIFA World Cup, is currently underway in Qatar where the world’s best 32 teams are battling it out for the coveted Jules Rimet Trophy.

Unfortunately for Kenyan football fans, as it has come to be expected, they can only watch on the sidelines and cheer foreign teams as their national team is once again absent from the tournament.

By all counts, the state of the beautiful game in the country can only be described as pitiful. And it has been like this for some time now.

Unlike in other disciplines, we have nothing much to show for in football. Kenya, for example, qualified for the 2003 Cricket World Cup where they surprised everyone by reaching the semi-finals.

The country is a powerhouse in athletics. Shattering world records has almost become the norm for our men and women.

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Rugby is no different, and despite the occasional ups and downs, the men’s national sevens team, Shujaa, continue to raise our flag high in the national arena.

All this is to show that the country is full of talent and given the right conditions, Harambee Stars can excel as well. Dennis Oliech, McDonald Mariga, Victor Wanyama and Michael Olunga are successful homegrown players who have graced some of football’s big stages.

The genesis of the deplorable state of football in Kenya is management. Currently, Kenya is under FIFA suspension. The council suspended Kenya earlier this year with immediate effect due to third party interference, in particular, the takeover of football by a caretaker committee appointed by the government, which the world governing body considers to be a serious violation of the FIFA statutes.

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The suspension means the country is barred from fielding any team in any competitive event outside the country for both the men and women’s football teams and clubs.

Likewise, local referees are barred from international assignments while no locally-based Kenyan footballer will be allowed to complete a professional transfer during the duration of the suspension.

This was the third time that Kenya was receiving an international ban from FIFA. The first time was back in 2004, and came only four days to a World Cup qualifier match against Guinea. The action was taken in response to the government’s decision to dissolve the Football Kenya Federation over allegations of corruption inside the group.

Just two years later, in 2006, Kenya was once again banned from taking part in international football.

This time round, the decision was prompted by Football Kenya Federation’s repeated failure to abide by the necessary regulations and statutes.

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This cycle is not good for Kenyan football. The causal sequence of FIFA’s recurring suspension of Kenya is hindering and will continue to drag down the development of football in the country.

Not only does it affect the players but also the fans who are denied the opportunity to see their national team participate in international tournaments.

If Kenya is to stand a chance of taking part in the 2026 World Cup, a lasting solution to the unending tiff between Kenya and FIFA has to be found.

This is a challenge to the new Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba and FKF officials. Until this happens, we will continue being the faithful spectators watching from the terraces while others chase for glory on the pitch.

The writer is Okeyo Okwach, a regular commentator on social, economic and political affairs

The views expressed here are the writer’s and do not in any way represent the position of TUKO.co.ke.

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Source: TUKO.co.ke