Former Harambee Stars coach Jacob Mulee wants current coach Engin Firat to give more local players a chance in the national team.Commenting on Firat’s assertion that the local league lacks competitive quality, Mulee said he only partly agrees with the sentiments.“I would say yes and no regarding his sentiments. No because, there are many factors affecting our local league that need to be sorted out and we will have the quality. The biggest problem in the local league is the lack of serious sponsorship. When we had SuperSport airing the league a while back, we had foreign players trooping here since we had a quality league,” he explains.He said the state of the league had detoriated to such a level that teams cannot afford to pay players.Firat questions FKFPL’s potential, urges players to pursue top leagues abroad##NAJAVA_MECA_7930237##“Another factor is the bad pitches our teams play in. Sometimes you watch a match on television and you wonder why it is being televised in the first place,” he added.Having said that, Mulee insists that even in all the problems, there are stand out players who deserve a place in the national team.“There are some players who just stand out and should be given a chance to fight for a position in the team together with their foreign counterparts,” he said.He singled out Gor Mahia midfielder Austin Odhiambo as deserving to be in the national team at this time.“He should be in the national team. There is no reason he should not be called up. He is a very exceptional player who can play in any league in the world.”Mulee also challenged Firat to watch more local matches so that he can identify those stand out players who can be included in his squad.Firat speaking on Radio 47 on Saturday has challenged local players to seek greener pastures abroad if they are to improve their quality and the competitiveness of the national team Harambee Stars.
