The last time Kenya won the CECAFA Championships, Dennis Oliech was yet to sit for his high school exams, Then national coach Jacob 'Ghost' Mulee was yet to discover that he had broadcasting talent as well and no Kenyan fan had heard of the name Victor Mugubi Wanyama, yet.
Ten years down the line, the national team is in a despicable run of form, managing only one win out of six in a 2014 World Cup qualification group that was won by a wobbling Nigerian team, almost beaten by Kenya in their own Kalabar stadium, and recently given a Barcelonaresque treatment by a very unlucky Ethiopian team.
The only way Kenya can regain confidence to mount a serious 2015 African Cup of Nations qualification campaign is by winning the forthcoming CECAFA Championships, luckily being hosted by Kenya. If this does not happen expect a now familiar extension of gloom in the country's football world.
I can predict with almost one hundred per cent certainty that a poor show by Harambee Stars will see Coach Adel Amrouche being shown the door because (a) fickle Kenyan fans will bay for his blood (b) Sam Nyamweya's FKF will use him as a scapegoat against public outrage.
Another likely consequence of non-performance by the national team is poor stadium attendance. The last time Kenya hosted the tournament, a very angry CECAFA Secretary General Ncholas Musonye lambasted Kenyan fans, whom he called "armchair football fans", all because of a very poor stadium attendance record by the fans. This was particularly painful because a year earlier, a very enthusiastic Tanzanian public had filled their magnificient national stadium, matdh after match.
So to save the skin of coach Amrouch, and to prevent Kenyan "armchair" fans streaming in their hundreds of thousands to pubs to watch a-once-again-scoring-arsenal or a-poor-manchester-united-wondering-how-to-get-their-ferguson-back, Harambee Stars, please do put on a decent show!
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