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From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Wed Apr 20 2011 - 14:09:29 EDT
http://www.nation.co.ke/sports/football/-/1102/1148312/-/wsh9cg/-/
U-23 team disbanded after embarrassing defeat
By CHARLES NYENDE, cnyende@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Wednesday, April 20 2011 at 19:30
Football Kenya Limited has disbanded the inglorious Kenya Under-23 team and
relieved their coach Bob Oyugi of his duties.
This follows Kenya’s humiliating 4-1 loss to soccer minnows Eritrea in an
All Africa Games first round, first leg qualifier in Asmara on Sunday.
“We are replacing the coach and forming a new team,” FKL technical director
chairman, Hussein Swaleh, said yesterday. “Our best players in this age
category were not used. I do not understand why the coach did not use these
players,” Swaleh said.
An unfamiliar Kenya Under-23 team, exclusively featuring academy players
drawn mainly from the National Youth Talent Academy were picked by Oyugi for
the important assignment.
Enough exposure
No player from the KPL nor Harambee Stars capped players eligible to play
under-23 football like Kevin Omondi, Collins Okoth and Abdullatif Omar were
included in the team.
Prior to departing to Asmara a confident Oyugi had said these to the The
Nation: “We prefer to do things quietly and have been preparing for a long
time away from the eyes of the press and the public. These players have
enough exposure and talent to get results in Eritrea.”
When asked about the curious absence of players from Kenya’s top league
Oyugi responded: “I prefer to work with players for at least two to three
weeks. KPL clubs wanted to give me their eligible players for just two to
three days. That was unacceptable to me. I do not work that way. These
players are better than many in the KPL.”
But despite Oyugi’s bravery, the inexperienced team, clearly a third rate
Kenya side, came unstuck in Eritrea. Swaleh said due to financial and
administrative constraints FKL had decided to partner with Unicef and NYTA
to form an under-23 side.
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