Women's game needs proper structures says coach David Ouma
Dejected Harambee Starlets players leave the pitch after their Rio Olympics Games qualifying match return leg match against South Africa's Banyana Banyana at the Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos on August 2, 2015. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |
What you need to know:
- Rhoda Mulanzdi’s’ astonishing 23rd-minute strike from 18 yards at a sun-soaked Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos was enough to send the Kenyan team packing while handing Banyana Banyana the ticket to the next stage.
The national women’s football team head coach, David Ouma, has called for administrators to put in place proper structures if Kenya is to make progress.
In a candid assessment of his team’s performance in the wake of their elimination from the Olympic qualifiers by a polished South Africa on Sunday, Ouma said a competitive women’s league run on a similar model as the Kenyan Premier League will help nurture talent as well as helping talented girls attain fitness levels needed.
“I congratulate the girls on reaching this level. Going forward, we have to ensure that the team is given adequate resources. We performed well because we had half chances to score goals and it’s good progression.”
BRIGHT FUTURE
He went on: “The team has a bright future but we need a well-organised women’s premier league to run concurrently with the Kenyan Premier League so that the girls can be at good levels.”
The Starlets lost to superior and well organised opponents. From the game, the gulf in class was evident as Ouma’s girls struggled to cope. South Africa’s strikers ran rings round Kenya’s defence and passed the ball with much ease.
Rhoda Mulanzdi’s’ astonishing 23rd-minute strike from 18 yards at a sun-soaked Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos was enough to send the Kenyan team packing while handing Banyana Banyana the ticket to the next stage.
The victory left South Africa’s coach Vera Pauw purring. “It was a very hard fight. We had four or five chances and we took one. Kenya matured as the game wore on but I’m excited that we won with three central defenders,” Pauw said.
