NAIROBI, Kenya, September 19, 2026 – National under 20 football team coach Gilbert Selebwa believes their exit from the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers on Saturday is symptomatic of the poor youth development structures in the country.

The gaffer says there is need for a radical shift in talent identification and nurturing to ensure constant production of top quality players from the grassroots.

“We need to have a conveyor belt where we can be able to say that we have a group of players who started at under-15, progressed to under-17 and then they progressed to under-20. I think maybe that is where we are lacking at this particular point,” Selebwa said.

He added: “I think we’ll have to impress upon the big shots taking care of Kenyan football that if we can develop a conveyor belt to enable players transition from under 15s to 17s to 20s, then have coaches going to the grassroots to identify them, then we can have a paradigm shift in the way we develop our talents.”

The experienced tactician was speaking in the aftermath of a dark day for Kenyan football in which the 2026/27 Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League was once again postponed due to raging court battles over the guidelines applied in the previous season.

It couldn’t have gone any worse for the game as Selebwa’s under 20 side bowed out with a 1-1 draw against South Sudan at the Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam, a leveller in the second half not enough to guarantee passage into the knockout stages.

It followed their 2-0 loss to Burundi in their opener at the same venue on Thursday, their fortunes a stark contrast to their predecessors who earned Kenya’s first ever slot at last year’s Afcon after finishing second in the Cecafa qualifiers.

In his defence, Selebwa pointed out that the current Rising Stars have not played together as much as would have been appropriate to enable them gel well as a team.

“I think what people need to understand is that building a team is a process. This is the first time that I am handling a national team. About 70 percent of the players who played today have never played at this level, okay? A lot was expected from us, I know that…but if you look at the way we’ve picked the players, almost 90 percent of the players who played in the last year’s AFCON are not within the team,” he pointed out.

All water under the bridge as the Rising Stars pack their bags to return home from what has been an uninspiring performance at the tournament.

With the circus surrounding Kenyan football, the youngsters exit from a tournament many expected them to dominate should be a wake up call to the higher-ups.

Save for the national under 17 women’s team, Kenya age group national sides have been nothing home to write about.