Nairobi Star (Nairobi)
Samson Ateka And Francis Wadegu
24 June 2011
However, fresh fears of Fifa rankings could stymie Mugabe’s move to Aston Villa.
As news of Aston Villa’s interest in young Kenyan midfielder Victor “Mugabe” Wanyama continues to elicit excitement in the country, some quarters kept their fingers crossed that the transfer to the English Premiership side will come to pass.
The younger brother of Inter Milan midfielder McDonald Mariga could become the first Kenyan to play in the Barclays English Premier League premiership “if all goes well.” The versatile Harambee Stars midfielder is the subject of a possible transfer swoop from Barclays English Premier League side Villa who are believed to be eyeing the 19 yea-old brother of Inter Milan midfielder Mcdonald Mariga
Villa are looking to fill in the gap set to be left by the departure of wingers Ashley Young to Manchester United and Stewart Downing who has been s subject of desire for English Merseyside giants Liverpool. With Scottish giants Rangers and Swansea having been the likely destinations fro Mugabe, Villa believe that a Sh 145.8m offer would be too much for Belgian side Germinal Beerschot to decline.
Youth coach Bob Oyugi is convinced Victor Mugabe could be the next big thing should the transfer come to fruition. He says Mugabe’s success could whip up the enthusiasm of upcoming players through the ranks. But Oyugi is aware of the challenges ahead.
According to the English Football Association tough conditions must be met in order for a player to qualify for an immediate work permit in England. “The applicant club must be in membership of the Premier League or Football Association. The player must have participated in at least 75 per cent of his home country’s senior competitive international matches where he was available for selection during the two years preceding the date of the application; and the player’s National Association must be at or above 70th place in the official Fifa world rankings when averaged over the two years preceding the date of the application.”
Currently, Kenya have dipped from 74 in 2004 to 123 in Fifa rankings. A similar situation befell Victor’s elder brother Mariga when Manchester City made a £7million (Sh1.00bn) move for the then Parma (now Inter Milan) midfielder.
In view of Mugabe’s situation, Oyugi has urged the football authorities and the government to invest heavily in structures so as to improve the country’s Fifa rankings. “Its food for thought. We as Kenyans must start working towards a data base for players on various age groups rather than just concentrating on the national team Harambee Stars on qualifiers,” Oyugi said.
Oyugi also cited age cheating as one of the issues hindering the growth of football.”We end up denying the right players and instead resort to over-aged players from the Kenya Premier League. We cannot expect high-quality Fifa rankings if we still lack infrastructure. There are seven artificial turf stadiums in Kigali city alone. We also need tangible structures from the local governing body (FKL) if we are to make headway in the rankings,” said Oyugi.
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Kenya: Wanyama Wanted