NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 17 – While the Junior Harambee Starlets continue to celebrate their historic feat of qualifying for the FIFA U17 World Cup, a major conundrum awaits seven of the players and by extension the technical bench, as the players are set to sit for their final KCSE exams this year.
Will they give up the possibly once in a lifetime chance to play at a FIFA World Cup, or will they sacrifice their final Secondary School exams?
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) boss Nick Mwendwa says they are working with the Ministries of Education and Sports to find a solution to this conundrum, but he has reiterated that no deserving player will miss the chance to play at the World Cup, exams or not.
No girl will be left behind
“I spoke to the minister about it and I told him that we will not leave any girl behind because of Form Four exams. The World Cup will come only once in a lifetime but an exam can always be re-booked. We can re-book to have them do it in March. I cannot leave any girl behind when they have worked so hard to go to the World Cup,” Mwendwa told Capital Sport.
The Federation boss gave an example of Spain’s 16-year old forward Lamine Yamal, who is at the Euros currently on in Germany, and still has to balance with his school work.
With a pre-tournament camp organized in Marbella, Spain, in September, the girls will find themselves out of school for almost a month and a half.
The tournament starts in the Dominican Republic on October 16 and runs all the way till November 3 when the final will be played.
The KCSE exams, according to a provisional timetable from the Kenya National Examination Council (KCSE) is scheduled to start on October 22, with rehearsals planned for October 18.
Take teachers to the Dominican Republic
“If we can have teachers going to camp with them and the tournament as well in the Dominican Republic then so be it. We cannot leave any girl behind after working so hard for this once in a lifetime opportunity,” Mwenda further affirms.
Head coach Mildred Cheche also said it was an area of concern for her as most of the girls are her key players, but is optimistic that a solution will be found between the two concerned ministries.
“Our FKF office is working closely with the Ministry of Education to see if they can have remedial classes and then sit for exams after the rest, like a special exam, so that they can be able to participate in the World Cup. I am hoping a solution can be found to this,” said coach Cheche.
