Williamson set to take charge of U-23 team
The current Harambee Stars technical bench led by coach Bobby Williamson is likely to be handed an additional role to manage the national U-23 football team ahead of a busy schedule for this side next year.
The youthful side will compete at the Cecafa U-23 Championship in Sudan in April 2015, alongside the Africa Championship cum Olympic qualifiers and All Africa Games qualifiers, with all competitions expected to commence within the first six months of 2015.
Kenya has been drawn against Botswana in March, with the aggregate winner of the fixture facing Zambia and eventually Gabon, in a contest for a ticket to feature in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
At the same time, Egypt and then either DR Congo or Burundi, stand in the way of this team securing a berth to compete at the All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville in September next year.
VAST EXPERIENCE
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) is expected to formally announce Williamson as the coach in charge of the side owing to his vast experience in this competition, although a few voices within the body’s National Executive Committee (NEC) are understood to be vouching for either Salim Ali or John Kamau.
The former Gor Mahia trainer, who coached Uganda Cranes between 2008-2013, helped the country’s U-23 side to qualify for the last edition of the All Africa Games in Maputo, at the expense of the Kenyan side, thanks to a 5-1 thumping in Nairobi.
Williamson, if selected, is likely to choose a bulk of his squad from the 95 players based in the Kenyan Premier League, who were born after the competition’s cut off qualification date of January 01, 1993.
Meanwhile, the women U-23 team has also been registered for both the All Africa Games and Olympic Games qualifiers, assignments that will commence with a date against Botswana in April.