Not since 2002 has there been so much attention on the Kenya U17 men’s football team.
Salim Babu’s recent calling up of 77 players has shone a focus on a category of the national team that last made news in 2002 when then Sports Minister, Najib Balala, disbanded a Kenya U17 captained by McDonald Mariga on claims that it comprised overage players.
That disbandment followed Kenya U17 defeating Ghana U17 3-2 on aggregate to proceed to the second and final round of qualifying for the 2003 African U17 Championship which took place in Swaziland.
In the Preliminary Round, Kenya U17, coached by Tom Olaba, had defeated Eritrea 3-1 on aggregate before dispatching Ghana U17, whose coach, the famous Silas Tetteh, accused Kenya of age-cheating following a 2-0 loss at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
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“The stronger, bigger, and more muscular team won,” Tetteh said while stating that his team had been tactically superior and will win 3-0 in the return leg.
In defiance, Mariga said “the best way to defend is to attack” as the team left for Ghana and Kenya U17, despite losing 2-1 away, managed to secure the vital away goal that won them the tie 3-2 on aggregate.
That result put Kenya on the brink of qualifying for the 2003 African U17 Championship for the first time ever as they were set to face Ethiopia U17 in the final qualifying round.
However, following the disbandment of the team by Najib Balala, Ethiopia U17 qualified for the tournament after receiving a walkover win over Kenya U17 who were later banned for two years from all CAF under-age competitions.
Since then, Kenya U17 moved on with life silently as they failed to qualify for tournament after tournament until Salim Babu has thrust them back into the limelight by calling up 77 players for the CAF U17 AFCON CECAFA qualifiers which will take place in Kampala, Uganda, from December 14, 2024.
Teams in the CECAFA region will be fighting for two slots which will be scooped by the two finalists in the upcoming tournament that Babu is preparing the Rising Stars for.
The last edition, held in 2022, was won by Somalia U17, with South Sudan U17 finishing as first runners-up.
Salim Babu’s provisional squad of 77 consists of six goalkeepers, 27 defenders, 25 midfielders, and 19 strikers.
Babu, who was recently dismissed from his role as the Kenya Police head coach, has until December 10, 2024, to name his final squad, an action which will see him drop over 50 players.
Looking at the history of his call-ups, it is evident that Babu is not a stranger to handling bloated provisional squads and, by deduction, he must be an expert at breaking sad news given the high number of players he usually drops from his provisional squads.
On September 18 this year, Babu included 50 players in his provisional squad for the CECAFA U20 Championship held in Tanzania in October where Kenya lost to the hosts in the final. Babu later reduced that squad to 20 on October 3.
In March 2024, Babu had six days to prepare for the Four Nations Tournament held in Malawi but it did not deter him form calling up 46 players of whom 23 were later dropped.
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On November 17, 2023, Babu called up 71 players to the provisional squad for the 2023 CECAFA U18 Championship held in Kenya. Six days later, he sent 46 players home and remained with a final squad of 25 players.
This latest calling up of 77 players has Kenyan football fans speculating on Babu’s squad selection methods and as the discussions rage on, Babu deserves some applause for getting Kenyans to talk about the national U17 team once again.
If anything, with Babu at the helm, Kenyans have every reason to keep their hopes high of the team qualifying for the AFCON U17 Championship for the first time ever.
Despite his unconventional squad selections methods, Babu, reached tournament finals with Kenya U18 and Kenya U20 at the 2023 CECAFA U18 Championship and the 2024 CECAFA U20 Championship respectively.
A repeat of that in Kampala will sure have him and his team in the history books.
Kenya U17 opponents
