Kariobangi Sharks chairman Robert Maoga has proudly come out to proclaim the massive impact of having a functional junior side within a senior team’s set up. In their last league fixture over the weekend, Sharks became the first side in Kenyan football to include four youngsters from its junior U20 side in the match day squad named to face Vihiga United.In the four nil drubbing of the county funded side, two of the four youngsters named on the bench against Vihiga got their maiden appearance in the top flight league at that very tender age. When Sharks were comfortably leading by three goals, Mathew Kibiwott and Geoffrey Onyango were introduced in the 60th and 71st minute respectively to get a feel of the action.🗞️| 2 of the 4 youngsters named on the bench against Vihiga United had a feel of @Officialfkfpl📑| Mathew Kibiwott and Geoffrey Onyango were introduced in the 60th and 71st minute respectively and were key in quick transition to the opponents half.#WeAreSharks #BetwaySharks pic.twitter.com/Yo69WYgpOL— Kariobangi Sharks FC (@k_sharksfc) July 18, 2021 Maoga, who three years ago was the pioneer of the rule change that now allows teams have the power of promoting players from its junior sides to the senior set up, emphatically explained the impact of setting such an early foundation to the junior boys who will be one day expected to transition to the senior team.“Having a junior side can bring depth to your team because at any one particular point, if you have star players in your junior team, you can promote them to the senior team, give them playing time and eventually by the time they are transitioning fully, they already have the needed playing time, they know the team’s philosophy and they will be ready for the big stage,” he said.4️⃣ youth team players ( Mathew Kibiwott,Isaac Otieno,Geoffrey Onyango,Ian Omondi)will make their senior team debut on the bench today.😄| We are looking forward to see who will feature in today’s match.#WeAreSharks #BetwaySharks pic.twitter.com/VLdfgQepaJ— Kariobangi Sharks FC (@k_sharksfc) July 17, 2021 Since the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic, leagues all over the world and in Kenya have had to deal with punishing congested fixtures that have left a toll to the already thin squads available locally, Maoga hinting that the academy way is where reprieve lies for Kenyan teams who should borrow a leaf from global practices.“With too many games as has been witnessed during these times, it means you can actually rest your senior players and play another team. So, being the pioneers of such an unprecedented thing in the league, we hope it will improve the quality of our league. This also shows that Kenyan football is adopting to global standards that we hope other teams will be quick to implement if successful,” the chairman remarked.With victory in their last fixture, Sharks leapfrogged Gor Mahia, who they take on in their next fixture, to go fourth on the league standings.
