FKL's excuse for failure does not wash

That Macdonald Mariga and Dennis Oliech are currently the most famous and highest paid Kenyan footballers is non-contestable. After all, the two were the first Kenyan players to feature in the glamorous UEFA Champions League. If stories doing rounds in the media are to be believed, this same fame and fortune has gone into the players heads, resulting in bad blood between them.

When Kenya visited Bissau, Guinea Bissau, for her maiden qualifier match for the 2012 African Cup of Nations, she was given a 1-0 hiding by the host nation.

This obviously disappointed Kenyan fans, who have not been given any reason to celebrate by the national team over the past two years. When the team finally returned from Bissau after enduring frustrating flight delays,

Controversially appointed FKL Technical Committee Chairman Hussein Swaleh, who was head of delegation for the Guinea Bissau match, readily supplied an explanation for the loss - bad blood between Oliech and Mariga - how convenient!

That is a cleverly crafted scapegoat intended to get FKL off the hook - and it is being embraced everywhere, including in the media circles. Kenya's latest false start in a football championship is clearly a responsibility of FKL. this ought to be crystal clear to everyone.

After the abrupt resignation of controversial coach Antoine Hey, FKL settled for Twahir Muhiddin, to whom, with all due respect, nothing substantial in terms of football achievement can be attributed. His appointment, as was that of Hey , was unprofessional in the extreme.

Recently, Muhiddin somehow conjured up a draw and a win for Harambee Stars against Tanzania and Ethiopia respectively. Even the most of skeptical Kenyan fans began to believe that Kenya would secure a positive result against Guinea Bissau.

Then the usual ineptitude of local football mandarines set in. Harambee Stars were locked out of Kasarani and had to relocate to Karen, then someone forgot that the team had to fly to Guinea Bissau, hence the need for early flight arrangements.

Consequently, the team barely made it to Bissau in time for the match. Muhiddin messed up the routine task of appointing a captain, thus adding unnecessary tension to an already tired squad, what other outcome could one expect against an inspired (albeit lightweight) home team, barring lady luck choosing to smile on Kenya?

Some have bought FKL's excuse and blamed Oliech and Mariga for the loss but I lay the blame squarely at FKL's door.

Are Kenya's football administrators primed to self destruct?

Just when pieces were nicely falling in place to roll-off another pleasant stretch for Kenyan soccer lovers, the local mafia that is Kenya football managers spoilt the party - again.

We are coming off a celebratory mood after Supersport extended their sponsorship for the Kenyan Premier League, the national under 20 lads have walloped Sudan 3 -0 to book a date with Lesotho, the senior team has drawn 1-1 with Tanzania - in Dar es Salaam - before teaching Ethiopia a footballing lesson with a 3 - 0 hiding - in Addis Ababa, our stand out professionals Mariga and Oliech have kicked off the new season with valuable match-play time, spirits are high in camp as the team prepares for Guinea Bissau - what more could a football romantic ask for?

Then come departure time, a shocker! Football Kenya Limited had forgotten the simple logistical necessity of completing travel arrangements in time. After the coaching and playing units have shown so much enthusiasm in the training camp, why should the administrators display such ineptitude?

Someone should have impressed upon the government the need for early allocation of air tickets. Someone should have learnt in ample time of the difficulties of finding connecting flights to Guinea Bissau and West Africa in general.

How is it that players can be aware of these difficulties and not the the football managers? Could someone be sleeping on the job? As it is, players might arrive in Bissau quite jaded - if they make it in time at all.

Let us hope that this unfortunate turn of events does not rob us of the great opportunity we have of starting the 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifiers on a winning note. If we come back from Bissau carrying a defeat, we all know whom to throw it at.

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For an up-coming poor footballing youngster in a Kenyan backstreet, there probably can never be a more apt motivating factor than Macdonald Mariga driving into camp in an imposing red Hummer.