Nick Mwendwa, the new Football Kenya Federation (FKF) supremo is passionate about the youth as the future of the game in the country. The 36-years old has made it clear that his four year tenure will be youth centric, and signs pointing to this end are already there.

I believe this is the best way to go if his dream of Kenya gracing the Qatar 2022 World Cup is to become a reality.

However the regime must be told that the impatient nature of the Kenyan fans who are starved of glory since the national team last qualified for Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2004 may not give them room to execute solely the long term vision.

This was evident over the weekend when fans exploded when the national team Harambee Stars lost the second match on the trot against the same opponent, Guinea Bissau in the on going AFCON 2017 qualifiers.

Therefore Nick and his team must learn to walk and chew gum on the go; the long term goal must be accompanied by an immediate honest plan to get the best out of what we currently have.

I believe the Harambee Stars stood a realistic chance of making it to Gabon next year, were it not for favoritism, cronyism and tactical goofs by the technical bench lead by Stanley Okumbi.

When you have top quality in Victor Wanyama, a dependable player for his side Southampton FC, Royal Antwerp’s Johanna Omollo who has been banging in goal for his side in Belgium, Zesco United’s trio of David Owino, Anthony Akumu and Jesse Were, Ayub Timbe, Paul Were, Michael Olunga…you can’t convince me that we have to wait till 2022 to beat a lowly ranked Guinea Bissau.

The trial and error with the national pride, where rookies who are close to authority are granted play time at the expense of tried and tested internationals must also stop.

Get your house in order early enough sir, hire a qualified and experienced Coach, probably a foreigner devoid of “Mtaa” mentality to start preparing a team for CHAN 2018 which kenya hosts.

In the meantime set up two youth leagues; U15 & U19, set the ball rolling and the support will come along the way. Learn from the former Gor Mahia Secretary General Chris Omondi whose rough idea of K’Ogalo owning a youth side is now a reality, he didn’t have the financial might but just the will to succeed, and yes the team has done wonders. One of the product of his dream, Amos Nondi is now the caption of the U20 national team, which the federation assembled for the U20 AFCON 2018 qualifiers.

Copa Coca-Cola, Kenyan Premier League U19 tournament and Safaricom’s Sakata Ball are brilliant ideas, but questions have always been asked about the future of talent identified when the competitions end, and hence the call for youth leagues that run throughout the year, to help monitor growth.

Rwanda are leading the way in youth football; they set up youth leagues in 2015, go learn how they are doing it.

In conclusion, I must commend the new office for a better treatment of the national team, the preparation was well done, the good coordination with the league body KPL to create more time for the team was highly commendable.

Views expressed herein are solely of @bonfaceosano

Bonface Osano

African Football Writer contributing @Soka25east | Commentator; appeared on @MySoccerAfrica, @KweseSports, @ntvkenya, others | Keen follower of African Football. E-mail: bonfaceosano@gmail.com