Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has, in recent times, successfully enticed a handful of players with Kenyan roots to forgo their ambitions of playing for their countries of birth in favour of representing Harambee Stars.Daniel Anyembe, Jonah Ayunga, Adam Wilson, and Alfred Scriven are living examples of European-born players with Kenyan roots who have since established themselves as regulars in the Harambee Stars squad. ##NAJAVA_MECA_8763434##It is also fair to note that the country has exported talent abroad, with the South Sudan and Somalia federations being the biggest beneficiaries, as a few Kenyan-born players have pledged allegiance to their national teams. While it is certain that Kenyan-born players die to wear the Harambee Stars kit, Tenuka Ranaweera looked the other way and elected to represent Sri Lanka, the country of his ancestors. ##NAJAVA_MECA_8763445##Born and raised in Mombasa, Tenuka pledged his allegiance to Sri Lanka last year, starting with their U20 team as soon as he was granted the green light to play for the Asian country. The 19-year-old, whose father Rajith Ranaweera was born in Sri Lanka but settled in Mombasa, needed six matches in the U20 team to convince the senior team that he was ripe for an upgrade and would earn it in September last year. Before making his senior team debut against Cambodia, Tenuka had played against Nepal, Bangladesh, DPR Korea, Malaysia, Oman and Tajikistan with the U20 team. 8 brothers featuring in the Football Kenya Federation Premier League [LIST]The 19-year-old, in an exclusive interview with Mozzart Sport, attributed his decision to switch allegiance to the sky-high competition for slots in Harambee Stars and family influence. “When the opportunity to play for Sri Lanka arose, I did not think twice about it. I considered it an opportunity to make my dad and grandparents proud, as they were born there. Much as I wanted to play for Kenya, I considered the long route of making it to the team, the challenges and competition for the few available slots,” he opened up. The Bandari Youth team graduate also alleged that age cheating, frustrations and unexplained omission from the junior national teams played a role in his decision to look the Asian way. Why Kenya U20 forward turned down 4 offers in USA to join Saginaw Valley FCThe improved football infrastructure and management were also cited as reasons that attracted the dreadlocked player to opt for the 200th-ranked nation on the FIFA standings. Having made his debut for the Sri Lanka senior national team last year, the former Nairobi United midfielder is on a mission to guide the nation in punching a ticket to the Asian Cup. Having been drafted into the team’s final squad, Tenuka cannot wait to be in the pitch and help the team secure points in their March qualifiers against Thailand and Chinese Taipei. Sri Lanka, the lowest ranked nation in the qualifiers, is in Group D of the qualifiers along with Chinese Taipei, Thailand and Turkmenistan. “My dream is to help the country qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup against the odds. We are determined to get off to a flying start later in the month and write history by qualifying the country to the finals in Saudi Arabia,” added Tenuka. Sri Lanka, who secured a place in the group stage after edging Cambodia in the playoff, will be seeking to get to the Asian Cup for the first time, having failed in the past eleven bids.
