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Kenya win over critics with new coach
- Updated: July 29, 2016
Although Kenya have already been eliminated from qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ and no longer have a chance of making it to the finals of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations next year in Gabon, Harambee Stars’ fans have something to cheer about.
A look at the FIFA/Coca World Ranking sees the east African team ranked 86th in the world – their best placing since January 2009, when they were considered the 84th best team in the world. They were 129th just last month, and their leap of 43 places was only bested by New Zealand (up 54 places to 93rd) and Puerto Rico (up 46 to 112th).
The coach overseeing the improvement is local Kenyan Stanley Okumbi, who took over from Bobby Williamson in February of this year. Surprisingly, Okumbi is only 36 years old – the youngest ever to lead Kenya – and followed an unusual path to reach the status of national team coach. “I did not play football at the highest level,” he told FIFA.com. “I was playing in the lower leagues and we did not have a coach, so I offered to take over the role.” Okumbi did well enough to work his way up to head coach for domestic top division club Mathare United, where he earned a reputation as an inspiring and stubborn figure. He said that the success of the national team is a mark of his inspiration for the job. “When the national team came calling earlier this year, I knew that I could not turn down their request. I …
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