This archive report was first published on 13 August 2019.
Published on August 13, 2019, Kenya's Under-15 football team is due to leave the country early Tuesday morning for Eritrea, where they will compete in the Council for East and Central Africa (Cecafa) Under-15 Championship.
The Junior Stars, who are in Group 'A' alongside Somalia, hosts Eritrea, and Burundi, will begin their campaign on Friday against Somalia. Group 'B' has Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, while Group 'C' has Tanzania, Sudan, and Djibouti.
The top three teams from Group 'A' and 'B' will join the top two from Group 'C' in the quarter-finals slated for August 27 and 28. The final will be played on September 1.
Team head coach Sagar Lakhani expressed confidence in his team's abilities, stating, "We have played several friendly matches with teams at different levels and we feel confident that we have a good team. We are fit and excited to compete in Eritrea, and we are going to give it our best shot."
He added, "We really know nothing about our opponents but we are going to play our way - try and possess the ball as much as we can, attack and score goals. We will watch the teams, adjust and learn from them to make the necessary adjustments as the tournament progresses."
Team captain James Gachago is optimistic about their chances, saying, "We have learnt a lot in camp and the experience has been good. I am very happy with the way we are playing and we are very confident heading into the tournament. This is our first major tournament as a team, and it is important that we learn and correct our mistakes. This is putting us on the path to qualification for the World Cup and other big tournaments and I hope we win."
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has made its Centre of Excellence in Thome, Nairobi, the permanent base for the team, where the players are put on a homeschooling programme with the long-term target of creating a team that can qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
