Kenya can learn from Nigeria and Ivory Coast in as far as youth development is concerned, former Harambee Stars defender Sammy Omollo has said.
Omollo retired from international football in the late 1990s and said the two West African Nations have sound structures in which their players gel together for a very long time when young before graduating to the national team.
“Ivory Coast and Nigeria have always produced the majority of its national players from their youth system. Each time you will get at least six or so players in the national team who were at the youth level together,” Omollo told Goal.
“[Salomon] Kalou and his generation, apart from the fact the majority were in Europe playing for big teams, they were together at Asec Mimosas academy.”
Omollo gave an example of the 1992 Kenya U21 team whose players seamlessly joined the national team enabling a smooth transition as senior players exited the stage after the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals in Senegal.
When Omollo and his company retired, in came Dennis Oleich and his generation and since then, the Posta Rangers coach says, Kenya is yet to develop another great team.
“Those [proper structures] are the things we are lacking. In our U21 team, six to eight players were there together for a very long time. These are the things we should actually have,” he added.
“When we exited the stage, we lost the direction and when the [Dennis] Oliech and co left, we completely lost the direction. And we are yet to pick.”
The former Gor Mahia defender added the manner in which Kenya's junior team is currently selected could be biased thus derailing its development.
“Although I do not want to sound political, when we are doing scouting for our youth team; the foundation for our teams, clubs and national teams, we should never be quick in assembling them,” he explained.
“We could have the structures, but why are players only coming from a particular team or particular area? It should be all over and about merit. If we get this right again, getting a good national team will be very easy.”
The tactician believes once Kenya gets its youth structures right, it will always be simple organising Harambee Stars whenever they are about to participate in an event.
“We may not need to go camping because players are taken to a camp to gel but when they could be together for long, naturally the gelling process is easily achieved,” Omollo concluded.
“If six or seven players have been together for long, then there is no need to gell at all. That is the biggest mistake we are doing.”