NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 27 – Kenya’s Under-23 head coach Ken Odhiambo says sending a junior team to the COSAFA Championships in South Africa is a risk, as most of the other countries will bring their strongest teams in.
Kenya was invited to the tournament to replace Malawi who pulled out, and the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) made a decision to send a junior team.
“This is a risk because these other guys like Comoros are bringing 95 percent senior players who play in the French leagues, but it is worth it. These young players have been waiting for this chance, to show what they are made of. I believe with the planning we have had we will show something abd the the 7th, we will be smiling,” says coach Odhiambo.
Odhiambo, who is an assistant to Engin Firat at the senior national team, will be joined in the technical bench by William Muluya as well as Bidco United’s Anthony Akhulia who is an assistant coach to the Kenya Under-18 and Under-20 teams.
Ready for challenge as head coach
Odhiambo has been an assistant coach at the national team level in various stints, but this will be the first time he will be entrusted with the job of being the head coach.
“Every coach has an ambition and for me, this is no different. I am ready for the task and I have grabbed the chance with both hands and will do my level best,” confidently stated the coach.
Kenya has been drawn in Pool C of the tournament, and start their campaign against Zambia on Friday at 7pm. Comoros and Zimbabwe are the other two teams in the group.
The tactician says it will be a tough group, but reiterates the players have prepared and trained well, despite only being together for a week.
“In football, it’s your plan and confidence that matters. For us, we are confident and optimistic that we will get into the tournament with a lot of confidence and our ambition is to win,” said the coach.
The team is an integration of players who were part of the Under-18 team at the CECAFA Championships last year as well as the U-20 team that played at the three-nations tournament in Malawi two months ago.
Coach Odhiambo says the aim, in the long term, is to integrate these players into the senior team. Defender Alphonse Omija who featured the full 90 minutes in this month’s World Cup qualifier against Ivory Coast is also part of the team.
Young and ambitious team
“I believe we have a very good young team with ambitious players and we are ready for this tournament. The ambition is to go there and win and that is what drives us there,” Omija, who plays his club football in Oman said.
He added; “For most of the local based players in the team, this is also a chance for them to go and market themselves out there. We know that the South African market is very big and you never know who is watching out there. This might be their chance to make a big move before the new season.”
The squad also includes the Spain-based duo of Aldrine Kibet and Amos Wanjala, as well as England-based Jeremy Bissau.
“It is important that we take these players through these stages of growth to move slowly from the lower levels. This is the right thing to do and if we continue working that way we will go places,” said the coach.
