Failure to host Chan shameful: Kimanzi

Mathare United coach Francis Kimanzi gives instructions to his players during a training session on September 25, 2017 at the Goan Institute grounds in Pangani, Nairobi. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |

What you need to know:

  • Former Harambee Stars coach Francis Kimanzi believes that Kenya’s failure to host the 2018 Africa Nations Championship is “a knife on the backs of the players”, and that the loss will have far reaching effects on local players who stood to benefit immensely from the experience.
  • In an exclusive interview with Nation Sport on Monday, the Mathare United tactician opined that it was a big shame for Kenya to have been stripped off the hosting rights due to lack of suitable playing surfaces.

Former Harambee Stars coach Francis Kimanzi believes that Kenya’s failure to host the 2018 Africa Nations Championship is “a knife on the backs of the players”, and that the loss will have far reaching effects on local players who stood to benefit immensely from the experience.

In an exclusive interview with Nation Sport on Monday, the Mathare United tactician opined that it was a big shame for Kenya to have been stripped off the hosting rights due to lack of suitable playing surfaces.

“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?

“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 team mates participate in such a competition. It is a knife on the backs of the players.

Kimanzi was reacting for the first time ever since Kenya was shamefully striped of the 2018 Chan hosting rights due to lack of proper infrastructure among other things in September.

That chance has since been awarded to Morocco, but Kenya are no longer eligible to participate in the 16-nations show piece, since they did not go through the qualification process.

“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,” he said at The Goan Institute in Nairobi after taking his team through the morning paces.

Kimanzi, 41, is regarded as one of the most experienced local tacticians in the country, although his current club has struggled with performance this year, and are facing a real threat of relegation after 15 years in the top flight.

This, Kimanzi says, does not bother him much, as his bigger ambition this season was to nurture young players and shape their future careers, as opposed to challenging for the title.

“Every time you take a new job, you go into it expecting a different experience. When you are working with a team that has a good budget and experienced players, your goals will definitely be different from when you are working with a team like Mathare, whose primary aim is to nurture youth talent.

“When I took this job at Mathare I knew that I was about to start having a new experience. I am happy when I see players coming out of the pitch with a new lesson and more experience, whether they win or lose.

“At the moment we are fighting for a good position on the league table because again, nobody wants to go down. We have some few games remaining and we shall keep trying to ensure we survive,” he said.

With four games left before the end of the season, Mathare are placed 15th on the 18-team SportPesa Premier League table with 31 points, six more than bottom placed Muhoroni Youth who have played a match less.