Kenya’s Harambee Stars, with coach Antoine Hey in extreme right. Pictures: Mohamed Amin
KENYA MIGHT HAVE LOST its second match in a row in its campaign to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but is well on course to qualify for its sixth Africa Nations Cup finals appearance in Angola in January 2010.
Kenya has never gone beyond the first round of the Nations Cup, and has never qualified for the World Cup.
After losing to Nigeria’s Super Eagles 3-0 in Abuja on June 7, the wait continues.
Now there is the small matter of beating Mozambique, another underdog in the group trying for their fourth Nations Cup appearance.
The two meet in Nairobi on June 20, with the winner of the match standing the better chance of advancing to Angola.
It will be the first time that the two nations will be playing each other.
Despite the loss to Nigeria last week, Harambee Stars played good football but failed to utilise their numerous scoring chances.
Patrick Oboya, Dennis Oliech and McDonald Mariga were outstanding.
On the seven occasions that Harambee Stars have played the Super Eagles, only once in 1997 in Nairobi did Kenya manage a one-all draw.
But all is not lost. The attention now shifts to Mozambique and the Nations Cup. The Mozambican team, also known as the Mambas, have not had a good outing either.
They held Nigeria to a one-all draw in Maputo in March, but lost 2-0 to Tunisia on June 7 and have one point.
Harambee Stars on the other hand, have lost their two matches to Tunisia (2-1) and Nigeria (3-0) and have no point.
The Mambas, like the Stars, have never qualified for the World Cup finals and have appeared at the Nations Cup only thrice in 1986 1996, 1998.
They have also never gone beyond the first round.
Harambee Stars must now beat the Mambas both home and away to be assured of a slot in Angola.
Stars also face a daunting task against Tunisia away in Tunis and Nigeria at home in September.
They must pray that Mozambique, which also has to play the two African soccer giants, fail to get any points against them.
After Stars loss in Abuja, the same old excuses are being trotted out. Mismanagement and lack of government support top the list.
Kenya has been suspended by the world governing body FIFA on several occasions, the latest being in 2006 after the government failed to respect signed agreements to resolve the recurrent problems in the country’s football federation.
THE 2006 BAN WAS THE second in two years. Fifa suspended Kenya for three months in 2004 for government interference but the situation was reversed after the country agreed to draw up new statutes.
Fifa rules are clear on non-interference by governments and several countries have faced Fifa’s ban at one time or another. But little has changed ever since.
Fifa recently backed a parallel body, Football Kenya Ltd, in a bid to end administrative wrangles, but cases of mismanagement at the national office persist.
The latest was the case of national coach Antoine Hey refusing to accompany the team to Abuja for the June 7 World Cup qualifier before being paid his three-month salary of $63,000 in advance.
Premier league clubs had already muddied the waters by declining to release their players to the national team as requested by Hey and ignored commitment letters the coach wanted them to sign.
In the region, Sudan and Rwanda were also on the receiving end in the week of the qualifiers.
Sudan went down 1-0 to Benin in Cotonou, while Zambia edged past visitors Rwanda with a 1-0 win in Group C. Rwanda now has a single point from their two games.
Uganda did not make it past the pre-qualifying rounds for the 2010 World Cup after losing to Benin last October.
It played in the same group with Angola, Benin and Niger, the latter being the underdogs in matches that also doubled up as qualifiers for the Nations Cup in Angola.
The Uganda Cranes won all their home matcheswith an impressive 3-1 victory over Angola, but lost all their away games, the worst being 4-1 to Benin in Cotonou. Cranes also lost 3-1 to underdogs Niger in Niamey.
Tanzania did not even make it to the pre-qualifying rounds.
