Victor Wanyama Makes Damning Admission About Kenyan Football, Weeks After International Retirement

Victor Wanyama Makes Damning Admission About Kenyan Football, Weeks After International Retirement

Rene Otinga
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:50 PM
  • Wanyama recently announced his retirement from international football
  • The Montreal Impact midfielder is currently in the country unwinding after the end of the MLS season
  • He was in Kwale county recently where he admitted football in the country had dipped in standards in recent months

Montreal Impact midfielder Victor Wanyama recently admitted the standards of football in Kenya have severely dipped over the last few months.

Victor Wanyama
Wanyama recently announced his resignation from International football. Photo: Harambee Stars.
Source: UGC

Wanyama recently made the sensational announcement that he would be hanging his boots from the international scene, consequently ending his stint as Harambee Stars captain.

His decision came at the back of being overlooked in a number of international call ups for the national team’s qualifier matches.

On club level, however, the 30-year old is still an integral part of Montreal Impact’s squad in the MLS and has captained the club on several occasions.

The former Harambee Stars midfielder was at the Rashid Abdalla Super Cup in Kwale county recently where he opened up about the state of football in the country, saying:

“Football has gone down because it has not been managed well, there has been a number of things like politics and the players were the ones suffering so this is something that should be looked at. When football is managed well we will also have increased employment because football is a career.”

Wanyama’s brother McDonald Mariga, who was also at the event, echoed his sibling’s sentiments.

With Kenyan football now at the hands of a caretaker committee, Mariga urged the new Federation that will come after the committee to make wholesome changes to operations to reignite football in the country.

“The coming Federation that will be elected should develop talent well in the country because we want to be like West African nations that are succesful in football. They should go to every corner and select players from rural areas and not just focus on Nairobi. We also do not want corruption - we don't want players who are not selected on merit to be on the national team,"

The end of Nick Mwendwa’s reign

Currently, football in the country is undergoing somewhat of a transition.

Following two back to back arrests of FKF President Nick Mwendwa, the embattled boss subtly announced he was stepping down from his position, thereby bringing an end to his controversy-filled reign.

The caretaker committee have been given six months to steady the ship and while football in the country has resumed swiftly, there are still some departments where the committee are coming under mild criticism.

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Rene Otinga photo
Rene Otinga
Rene Otinga is a sports journalist with over eight years of working experience in digital media. Rene's experience includes working as a Copywriter at X News Kenya and TUKO.co.ke.
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