by
Phumzile Ngcatshe
Wednesday Nov 01, 2017. 12:30
Kenya's failure to host the 2018 CAF African Nations Championship has received huge criticism from the country's football fraternity.
A former Harambee Stars coach Francis Kimanzi believes that Kenya’s failure to host the CHAN tournament is a knife in the back of the players.
He said the loss will have far reaching effects on local players who stood to benefit immensely from the experience.
“That is a serious matter and indeed a very big shame. Individuals build houses here in Kenya every day but the government cannot build stadiums?” said Kimanzi to the Nation website.
KOMPHELA: SA COACH BAXTER HAS SPECIAL DUTY FOR TSHABALALA
“Our players were really looking forward to that tournament and it is a huge blow and a big opportunity lost for them.
“Even those who weren’t in the national team squad would have drawn so much motivation from watching their teammates participate in such a competition. It is a knife in the back of the players.
“If we would have lost that chance because of unrest, like the kind that is currently affecting football development in Somalia, the pain would have been less.
“But we lost that chance because of lack of proper playing venues, yet even here where we are standing is a pitch.”
Kimanzi was reacting after Kenya was stripped of the 2018 Chan hosting rights due to lack of proper infrastructure and was replaced by Morocco as hosts.
COMMENTS
Sign in to comment