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Showing posts from April, 2024

IS TRIBALISM INHERENT IN HARAMBEE-STARS TEAM SELECTION?

Whenever the Kenya national football team (Harambee Stars) loses a game, many Kenyans are quick to call them names like "Luo Fc", "Omena United", "Jaruo team (sic)", "Kisumu boys" etc. And there are yet others who are quick to point out that the team doesn't represent the face of the country. I had heard these allegations many times before but I sort of just brushed them aside as not deserving of any attention. But my experiences with the Four Nations Tournament woke me up a little bit. Maybe there really is unfairness in team selection in Kenyan football after all. Maybe Luos and Luhyas are unjustifiably favoured. Looking at the Harambee stars squad - both senior and juniors- that represented Kenya at the Four Nations Tournament in Malawi, I couldn't deny that there was an over-representation of Luos and Luhyas. As a matter of fact, I don't remember seeing even a single Somali, Kisii, Kamba, Kikuyu or Kalenjin name on the team-sheet ...