Newly elected Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Nairobi West Chairman Benard Omondi has outlined three key ways Hussein Mohamed and MacDonald Mariga can develop football in the country. Omondi took over the reins of the area after branch elections held on Thursday 14 November. His win came after an initial six-year ban by the Nick Mwendwa regime in 2016.With football stakeholders across the country expecting glad tidings from the new office led by Hussein Mohammed and MacDonald Mariga, Omondi who supported the duo has listed grassroots football as one of the key areas.“More focus at the grassroots level. I feel like the previous regime did not put effort into the grassroots leagues. Hussein and Mariga committed to do more in this area and it is one of the key things I would advise them to do,” said Omondi.Omondi went ahead to explain ways in which football at the grassroots can be developed.“We should have more concerted efforts in improving that through things like capacity building, well structured and managed leagues with the help of branches,” he explained.Focus on youth leagues is the second area that Omondi considers important for their national office in partnership with the branches to focus on.“The second one is the youth leagues. On this front too, not so much has been done. We do not have a vibrant youth league that runs across the country. We should have more U11, U13, U15 and U17 leagues countrywide. The national office should support branches to do this,” he stated.The development of infrastructure was the last area listed by Omondi in his three key areas of focus.“Thirdly, in partnership with relevant stakeholders like national and county governments, corporates and other development partners, the new leadership should prioritize proper sporting infrastructure,” he said.Omondi expounded that the focus on infrastructure should be on smaller facilities as opposed to mega infrastructure that may not benefit grassroots teams as such.“I am not talking about mega structures, I mean just small 3,000-5,000 facilities like Dandora and Camp Toyoyo would help our football and also grassroots teams can monetize.For instance, a regional match between Kawangware United of Kawangware and SHOFCO from Kibra played at BP grounds would attract very huge crowds that can be monetized,” he concluded.
