Following a shaky start to the preliminary rounds of the CAF Interclub competitions over the weekend by Kenyan sides, questions have emerged concerning the quality and growth of local football.Gor Mahia returned to the CAF Champions League with a 1-0 defeat to South Sudan’s El Merreikh in the first leg of the preliminary round on Sunday, while Kenya Police FC were held to a barren draw by Ethiopian Coffee in their CAF Confederation Cup debut at Nyayo National Stadium.Commenting on the results, former Sofapaka FC captain, George Maelo, emphasized that while the country has top-tier talent, strong performances are closely tied to proper motivation.##NAJAVA_MECA_8275741##”We have the right quality players to get the job done, but it all starts with proper planning. It’s simple: if you don’t plan, you’re planning to fail,” Maelo asserted.Maelo compared the local clubs’ management to the Tanzanian sides, arguing that teams in the Tanzanian Premier League motivate their players well unlike the Kenyan sides, hence the good show in high-profile matches such as the CAF assignments.”Let’s talk about motivation. Are our players truly motivated to fight for the club? My answer is no. Look at Simba and Yanga—those players fight hard to be recognized by the fans.Massive Ksh5.4 billion unaccounted for in latest Sports and Arts Fund auditThe competition begins at the training ground, where the coach struggles to pick a lineup because everyone is pushing for a spot. But with us, the starting eleven is usually clear by Monday or Tuesday, leaving little incentive for others to push themselves harder,” he explained.The former Kenya Police FC team manager went on to note that the style of leadership in Kenya was also a key factor in a team’s performance.”I’ve followed Yanga closely in Tanzania, and their leadership is always present—whether in training, build-up matches, or travel. This close involvement helps them address challenges quickly, both for the team and individual players. Meanwhile, for us, we only meet on match day,” he offered.##NAJAVA_MECA_8275719##Maelo called for an urgent return to the drawing board to right the wrongs and salvage the ailing local football.”We’ve done it before with our local team, making a statement in continental football, and we can do it again. But we need to return to the drawing board as a team—players, technical staff, and management—to discuss solutions. The answers lay within the team, and together, we can find them.”Both Gor Mahia and Police FC will have to be at the top of their game in their respective return leg fixtures to advance to the next stage of the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup.
