Pacy Mbamba eager to fulfill childhood dream
Harambee Stars winger Christopher Mbamba (left) vies for the ball with Ismail Gonzales during a team training session the at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi on March 19, 2019. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |
What you need to know:
- Mbamba, born to a Namibian father and Kenyan mother in Zimbabwe, has represented Sweden at the under-17 and under-20 levels.
- He is however, still eligible to play for Kenya, as he is yet to feature for any national team at senior level.
- His talent as a pacy winger seems to have impressed coach Sebastien Migne, who has asked the government to expedite the process of giving him a valid Kenyan passport.
New kid on the block Christopher Mbamba says that playing for the Kenyan national team is a fulfilment of a childhood dream he has harboured since he was 13 years.
Mbamba, a winger who plays for Swedish Division 1 club Oskarshamns AIK, told Nation Sport on Tuesdayhat he is happy to be part of the national team, and that he hopes to make a powerful impact if called upon to represent the country in future assignments.
The 26 year-old, however, doesn’t have a Kenyan passport yet, and this could rule him out of the team that will be travelling to Accra Ghana on Thursday for their last Afcon Group F qualifying match against the Black Stars slated for Saturday.
“It feels very good to be here. It is something I have looked forward to this moment for a long time. I first watched the Kenyan team playing against Namibia when I was 13-years-old and since then, I have been an ardent supporter of the team.
Kenya is where my roots are. Apart from the team, I love the Kenyan culture, the food, people and the weather and I hope to make a name for myself here,” said Mbamba, who earned his maiden national team call up last month.
Mbamba, born to a Namibian father and Kenyan mother in Zimbabwe, has represented Sweden at the under-17 and under-20 levels.
He is however, still eligible to play for Kenya, as he is yet to feature for any national team at senior level.
His talent as a pacy winger seems to have impressed coach Sebastien Migne, who has asked the government to expedite the process of giving him a valid Kenyan passport.
“Mbamba has proven to be a very good player. Unfortunately, we are still trying to regularise his documentation and he cannot play before that process is complete. I just want to appeal to the government to help him get dual citizenship because he is very promising and is good enough to be in the final list to the Africa Cup of Nations,” the Frenchman said on Tuesday.
Stars are scheduled to leave the country on Thursday for Ghana ahead of their last Group F qualifying match of the Afcon against the Black Stars.
Kenya top Group F on seven points, one ahead of Ghana, who will be out to avenge the shock 1-0 defeat they suffered in the second round qualifiers in September last year, in Nairobi.
