This archive report was first published on 1 August 2019.
Kenya Secondary Nationals School Games in Kisumu have provided a platform for Harambee Starlets head coach David Ouma to scout for talented players. The annual schools event has seen Ouma identify seven players he will invite to camp for the Olympics qualifiers set for August 28 and September 1.
Among the players primed for the Starlets camp are Agnes Mbone, Providence Kasiala, Mercy Okoth, and Ivy Chepkirui from Nyakach Girls, Violet Wanyonyi, Anna Avusi of Bishop Njenga, and Fondo Amina from St.Johns.
According to Ouma, the players are expected to report to camp after the August 17-26 East Africa Games set for Arusha, Tanzania. The Starlets boss believes schools games are the backbone of the growth of not only football but sports in general in Kenya.
"I believe schools games are the backbone of the growth of not only football but sports in general in Kenya and that’s as federation we have decided to have a scouting mission project during school championships and Chapa Dimba," Ouma told Citizen Digital.
As part of the scouting mission project, the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) launched a project in 2016 to tap talent from schools games starting from county level. Ouma added, "We have scouting officers in every school games competition fully funded by the federation and our mission is to tap talent."
The Kenyan queens are scheduled to face off Malawi in the second round of Olympics qualifiers on August 28 in Lilongwe before playing host of the second leg in Machakos on September 1 with the winners set to play against either Ghana or Angola in the third round.
