I spent last weekend at a swanky resort in Naivasha, enjoying early morning jogs in the company of antelopes and zebras and awesome evening views of Mt Longonot while listening to pithy discussions involving editors of local and external media houses.
The only thing that threatened to ruin my stay was the pain of seeing my country’s regional neighbours excelling in the 2022 African U-20 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers.
Members of the Women’s Football Brigade from across Africa wouldn’t let me miss it. Our little WhatsApp group was filled with taunts from participating countries, the main question being: Where are these loudmouths from Kenya?
What made it more painful was the fact that just a few years ago, Kenya was the giant of East Africa in matters women’s football. How sad that we seem to have been dethroned by the likes of Tanzania, Uganda and…wait for it…Ethiopia!
Kenya was bundled out of the qualifiers in the previous round following a 10-3 aggregate loss to Uganda over the two-leg fixture played in October. This was our first showing at the competition having received a bye in the first round.
The Crested Cranes of Ugandans, who seemed to be as surprised by their victory over Kenya as Kenyans were by their defeat to “minnows”, ended up being paired against South Africa. And in their match on Saturday, they staged another surprise, upsetting the revered Banyana Banyana 1-0 to gain advantage going into the second leg of this third round.
Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro Queens, who have for long been the punching bags of Kenya, were also in action, and they beat Burundi 3-2 to gain a slight boost heading into the second leg which will be played on December 18.
Ethiopia, a country that is enduring a period of instability and the threat of war, also edged Botswana 3-1, and will now travel confidently to Gaberone to finish the job. Up for grabs are the two tickets reserved for Africa at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Judging by these results, it seems Kenyans are being left behind as the rest of East Africa flexes its muscles against southern African teams that have for long dominated women’s football alongside west African greats like Ghana and Nigeria. Is anyone else worried by this?
One wonders where the teenagers who took part in the qualifiers in October against Uganda are, because as a country, we have little to talk about in terms of centres for nurturing young football talent. If a survey was to be conducted today, how many of them will be found to have ditched football for other ventures that look more rewarding? How many have entered early marriages? Fallen pregnant?
A big part of the problem is that this season’s women’s league is yet to begin, even though there are indications that it will kick off next Saturday. There are no friendly or competitive engagements lined up for the women’s national teams and so they remain idle as their talent wastes away. This worrying development should be addressed sooner rather than later.
That said, a big thank you to the Confederation of African Football for ensuring live coverage of the qualifiers, albeit not in mainstream media channels. That is certainly a step in the right direction. BY DAILY NATION