Harambee Starlets head coach David Ouma has expressed joy in his nomination to the Coach of the year category of the upcoming Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year (SOYA) Awards.
Coach Ouma will yet again contest the award and he couldn’t hide his joy while expressing optimism that it is a sign of even greater milestones to come. Harambee Starlets has also been nominated in the Women Sports team of the year category.
“In all honesty, it has not been an easy ride and this nomination serves as a great motivational booster for my team,” said Coach David Ouma.
The coach led the Harambee Starlets to their first-ever CECAFA Women Championships title in 2019 in Tanzania.
This after they had narrowly missed out on Olympics Qualification after falling to Zambia in the fourth qualification round. Starlets had dumped out heavyweights Ghana and Malawi in the run up to their Zambia qualifier.
“I am delighted that the Harambee Starlets have been recognized out of our performance last year. Our players are also attracting international attention, which shows that we are experiencing positive growth,” said coach Ouma.
Also read: Harambee Starlets nominated for 2019 Safaricom SOYA awards
He in the meantime expressed his gratitude to Football Kenya Federation for giving the team an opportunity to take part in international competitions as well as friendly matches and urged government to support the team in their quest for international glory.
“I would like to commend the Football Kenya Federation for its efforts to give us an opportunity to play in the AWCON and Olympic qualifier matches. I also urge the government to create an enabling environment for us to achieve what we have set out to. This team has great potential and with proper support, we are capable of getting onto the world stage,” said the Coach.
Harambee Starlets will, in June this year, take part in the 2020 Africa Women Cup of Nations Qualifiers, whose final tournament will be played in November. The team is also angling for a place in the 2023 FIFA Women World Cup.
Also read: Harambee Starlets coach David Ouma nominated for 2019 Safaricom SOYA awards