Former Shabana and Tusker coach Sammy ‘Pamzo’ Omollo has lamented about the drop in quality of the FKF Premier League, terming it part of the reason why Harambee Stars failed to book a ticket the .
The former coach termed the failed bid for a ticket to Morocco as the clearest indicator of how low the team had sunk in recent years. He said the FKFPL used to attract quality players from all over in the past years but it is not the case anymore.
Turkish gaffer Engin Firat has been unconvincing in the three years at the helm and Harambee Stars legend Dennis Oliech wants Kenya to go a different direction.
«The results we achieved in the qualifiers show where we are. It exposed the gap between us and teams outside the region. It shows the drop of quality in our leagues,» he told .
Pamzo held the belief that Kenya had the capacity to secure one of the two tickets on offer-from Group J, not the third-place finish that Harambee Stars managed. The gaffer labeled the performance a shame considering neigbours Tanzania and Uganda sailed through and were making significant progress in their development.
While Kenya will be watching AFCON at home, Uganda and Tanzania will be dining with the big boys in Morocco. On what is next for Harambee Stars after the AFCON heartbreak, Pamzo said: «We should focus on catching up with the other East African teams. The performances the rest of teams from the region put in the qualifiers tells how much ground they have covered,» he added.
The future of Engin Firat is up in the air in the wake of Kenya's heartbreaking elimination from the 2025 AFCON qualifiers and the ex-captain wants Francis Kimanzi to return.
«We have always wanted to plug in the gap between us and teams from North and West Africa. I think we shouldn’t focus with that as we are no where near them in terms of quality and level.»