EDITORIAL: Help Stars win the title

Harambee Stars wrapped up their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign on a losing note, going down to Black Stars of Ghana 1-0 in Accra on Saturday.

The match was a mere formality since Kenya had already qualified for the Afcon finals, scheduled for June 21-July 19 in Egypt. However, Kenya missed out on the chance to get a favourable seeding ahead of the draw set for April 12 after they finished second in the Group F qualifier behind Ghana.

Kenya will now be making their appearance at Africa’s largest football festival for the first time in 15 years and this calls for proper and focused preparations. Harambee Stars should not travel to Egypt to fill up the numbers; the whole country will hope for good results from the national team, especially after Kenya failed to host the African Nations Championships (Chan) last year.

While the government has stepped in to fund the team, the rest of the corporate world should emulate gaming firm Betin, which came on board with a Sh20 million sponsorship. The government should also ensure that the intended build-up match in France from May 25 materialises and that funds are released in time.

The welfare of the players, technical bench and entire management team must be taken care of through the remittance of their allowances and other payments without delay so as to avoid uncertainly and demoralisation.

The government pledged a Sh50 million token to the team if they qualified for the finals, but that promise is yet to be fulfilled.

Perhaps a reward scheme, where victories and qualification through the stages is rewarded, should be introduced so as to spur good results from the players and the technical bench.

We take this opportunity to wish Harambee Stars the best as they begin preparations for the battle for the premier African title.