Cabinet secretary for sports Hon. Ababu Namwamba has reiterated what he now terms “football vision 2030” with the main pillar being Kenya’s qualification to the FIFA World Cup 2030.Like her East African neighbors including Uganda and Tanzania, Kenya has never in her over 50-year-history qualified for the World Cup, not even at the youth level.Ababu spoke on the Christmas eve as he, alongside his Cabinet colleague, Eliud Owalo graced a friendly match between multiple Kenyan champions Gor Mahia and Rarieda Combined at Nyilima Sports Grounds, Asembo, East Rarieda.With my brother ICT CS @EliudOwalo at a Christmas Eve game between Gor Mahia @OfficialGMFC and Rarieda Combined at Nyilima. Rebuilding Kenyan football Bottom-Up; grassroots the foundation our youth the reservoir. FootballVision2030 of Harambee Stars at 2030WorldCup is on. Twende! pic.twitter.com/xCEoOTccOl— Hon Ababu-Namwamba, EGH🇰🇪 (@AbabuNamwamba) December 25, 2022 Gor Mahia, who are on a Western Kenya tour during the Christmas break, won 2-0.”We are going to the basics to rebuild Kenyan football Bottom-Up, with the grassroots as the foundation and our youth as the reservoir. Football Vision 2030 of Harambee Stars at the 2030 World Cup is truly on,’ Ababu said.Owalo, who was the host, and holds the ICT docket, affirmed Ababu’s belief in abundance of talants at the grassroots level.”The match was manifest of the Government’s efforts in adapting a bottom-up approach towards revitalising soccer in the Country.”It is evident that there is ample talent at the grassroots that can be identified, nurtured and exploited to optimal capacity utilisation to facilitate empowerment of the Kenyan youth.”Since his appointment as the CS sports just over three months ago, Ababu has ensured among other things, the suspension of the Football Kenya Federation, FKF from international football by FIFA is lifted. He has also commenced talks to ensure that the Kenyan Premier League is back on Supersport.CS @AbabuNamwamba’s grand plan to build football from the Bottom, Up. #BuildingFromTheBottom#FootballRevival#SportsRevival#AbabuNakazi pic.twitter.com/SnIRc7RvUQ— Ministry Of Youth Affairs, Sports & The Arts (@moscakenya) December 21, 2022 The 2022 FIFA World Cup has only just finished, but planning is already underway for not just the next tournament in 2026 but also the one after that in 2030, which will mark the centennial edition.Several nations have already expressed their interest in serving as 2030 host and the vetting process by FIFA will be held over two years before a final decision is made in 2024, six years before the event.Beginning in 2026, the World Cup will be expanded to a 48-team tournament, likely requiring future hosts to team up in order to host an event of that magnitude.Africa will field four more automatic teams from the current five, with a possibility of an extra slot to be determined by a playoff against other continents.
