Harambee Stars now have no excuses

It is encouraging news that the national football team Harambee Stars will receive enough money to prepare for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations finals. So far, Sh244 million has been given to the team to help in their preparation which includes a training camp in France next month.

Another Sh26 million will be paid to the team by the Confederations of African Football (CAF) as appearance fees. This is good news and the Football Kenya Federation (FKF), Harambee Stars players and the technical bench have no reason not to prepare adequately for the tournament. They must now put up a good performance when the event kicks off in June.

It is not lost on fans and observers that the Harambee Stars have never received this kind of financial support ahead of an international tournament and the results must reflect the same. We have had shoddy preparations ahead of international events before and the results have been disappointing.

But now by qualifying for the tournament after 15 years, Kenya has joined the list of top footballing nations in Africa. The players are now assured of incentives going into the competition and the more they progress, the more money they will receive.

They must make us proud again. The players also have an opportunity to market themselves at the international stage and they should take it with both hands. Playing in this tournament should be a good build up to many more. We don’t expect any excuses now.