James Waindi
9 May 2008
Nairobi — Former national team coach Tom Olaba has warned of a disastrous 2010 World Cup/Africa Nations Cup campaign if the current Kenya Football Federation (KFF) officials remain in office.
Olaba, who last coached Harambee Stars in 2006 after taking over from former French international Bernard Lama termed KFF's strategy on Harambee Stars preparation as a big joke and called on the Government to intervene urgently.
Kenya will kick off their qualifying campaign against Namibia's Brave Warriors on May 31 in Windhoek and on Wednesday, KFF secretary general Sammy Obingo dismissed calls for a longer training period saying five days was enough for the team.
"This is unbelievable. As a patriotic Kenyan and a former coach I would not like to lean back and watch our team perish and yet we have a realistic chance of reaching the 2010 World Cup. It's every Kenyan's dream to watch Harambee Stars at the global event in South Africa but with the current developments, we may not win even a single qualifying match."
"How can some one talk about training for five days yet we don't have a team nor do we have a coach. If it was European countries or teams like Nigeria and Egypt we would understand when they train for five days because their players have played together for long but for Kenya it is comical," said Olaba.
Olaba said the Fifa requirement of at least five day training before an international match was meant for busy professional players and noted that local players should have started training by now to be able to gel and understand each other.
He asked the Prime Minister Raila Odinga, a staunch supporter for football, to step in and salvage the situation before it goes out of hand.
He said the current KFF officials should vacate the office and leave people who have a passion for the game to run the federation.
"We just lost to Tanzania less than a month ago and poor preparation and lack of international friendlies were some of the reasons for the loss. There is no way we can afford to gamble against a more formidable side like Namibia," Olaba said.
He backed coach Jacob "Ghost" Mulee saying it was not realistic to work without a contract and under unbearable conditions.
KFF is has been in consultation with the Ministry of Sports for the last three weeks about contracting the national team coach and the team's preparation, yet Stars now remain with 22 days before tackling the Brave Warriors in Windhoek.
Kenya is in group four of the second round of the qualifiers alongside Zimbabwe, Namibia and Guinea. The top two teams will qualify for the third and final round from which the five group winners qualify for the 2010 finals.
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