After a splendid 1-1 draw
away in Brazzaville against Congo Brazaville, Harambbe Stars jetted back in the
country, last night. Bobby Williamson has at least two months to prepare for
the fall of Zambia’s Chipolopolo, on September 5, this year.we are joint top of
Group E with Congo Brazaville, on a
single point but above Zambia and Guinnea Bissau, courtesy of the latter’s drub
goaless draw in Lusaka.
The team put on a brave
show and Paul Were’s well taken goal inside the first 10 minutes capped an
otherwise great evening away in Brazaville, when a new look Harambee Star’s,
without Dennis Oliech and McDonald Mariga showed glimpses that indeed there is
hope in the post Oliech-Mariga era. In Victor Mugubi, the team has the much
needed international experience to lead them to Gabon 2017. The emergence of
youngsters such as Michael Olunga is also timely. Barring any dramas that have
time and again hampered our previous African Nations Cup qualification
campaign, we should be in the Libreville party, next year, not just to make
numbers but as serious competitors.
However, there has been
a major let down from Football Kenya Federation, whenever Harambee Stars are
faced with away matches. It happened last year before the famous 1-all draw that
Harambee Stars pulled, away in Nigeria. Once again it happened last weekend in Brazzaville.
It is all about the accommodation of our team whenever it travels for away
matches. In Nigeria, last year, the team was booked by the Nigerian Football
Association (NFA), in a sub-standard hotel and had to train in a horrible
patched up field that bore makings of a dilapidated village football pitch. In Brazzaville,
our hosts booked us in a hotel that was near a blaring night club and as expected;
our team had to endure the horrible conditions preceding the match. To compound
matters, they arrived on Friday, just a day before such an important game. Now,
this is where I have a huge problem with Sam Nyamweya and his loyalists at FKF.
When will the
federation take care of Harambee Stars whenever it goes out for continental duty
across Africa? Why is it that Harambee Stars must spend nights in horrible
hotels and pathetic environment that have been intentionally chosen for us by
the hosts? Is it so hard for the federation to liaise with the Kenyan embassies
in the concerned countries and ensure that the embassy gets a better place to
accommodate the team? After all, it is not a must for the away team to spend
nights in the hotels chosen for them by the host federations. Nigeria and
Tunisia among other nations have in the past come for continental duty in
Nairobi and flatly rejected the hotel that FKF chose for them, on grounds that
they were not the best of environments in preparing for a match. Why is it that
FKF cannot do that, at least when our hosts submit us to at best horrible accommodations?
We all should remember that our hosts accommodate us in horrible environments
in order to psychologically kill us and set the stage to losing the match!
It is not fair that we
subject Congo Brazzaville to horrible accommodation when they come to Nairobi
for the return match, No. but we should learn and make sure that in the next
away matches against Zambia and Guinea Bissau, Harambee Stars are spared the
pain of pathetic hotels. Football Kenya Federation should liaise with the Kenyan
embassies in Lusaka and Bissau if the respective hosts choose to put us through
the shameful accommodation that we got in Nigeria (2014) and Congo Brazzaville,
last weekend. Poor accommodation is a common weapon of psychological defeat
that host nations in Africa subject visiting teams to. Football Kenya
Federation must make sure that it does not happen to our Stars unless; we want
to lose away matches even before we kick the ball in these hostile
environments!
In the race for Gabon
2017, there is barely room for errors as only 14 group winners and the two best
runners-up will join the hosts for the African soccer extravaganza. Harambee
Stars, if spared the pain of horrible accommodation in away matches has a
realistic chance of qualifying as group winners. The worst should be as one of
the two best placed runners-up.
It is possible if Football
Kenya Federation ensures that Harambee Stars get comfortable accommodations in
tranquil environments, just as Super Eagles and the Maghreb giants do when they
come for duty in Nairobi. Not only in soccer but also in all aspects of life,
psychological calm is key to winning any battle Harambee Stars need this!
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