Former Posta Rangers captain Joseph Mbugi says the capacity building programs for coaches that Football Kenya Federation has laid emphasis on is the biggest achievement that will go a long way to developing football in Kenya from the grassroots to the highest level.
Speaking after he graduated, among the class of 25, who successfully completed their CAF B coaching license at the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE), Mbugi hailed FKF for the capacity building programmes that has helped former players transition from playing into coaching careers.
Mbugi who is currently the assistant team manager at his former club Posta Rangers FC first took his CAF D course in 2020 after hanging his boots and went on to advance his knowledge attaining CAF C and now CAF B.
Speaking, Mbugi said that having taken the courses, his perspective of football as a player and now as a coach had taken a turn around and the knowledge has gained will go a long way to impact growth and development in the players he will handle in his line of duty. In addition to his assistant managerial role, Mbugi is as well a trainer at Posta FC.
“I began my football career as a player at Mathare Youth before moving on to Mahakama ad then Tusker FC where I won two Kenya Premier League titles and got a chance to play in the CAF champions league, CECAFA club championships and the national team Harambee stars. After retiring, I went into coaching and in 2020 I did my CAF D then CAF C and now CAF B and I am hopeful that this will benefit my players now and in the future,” Mbugi said.
“I really thank FKF for bringing the coaching courses because by just looking at our teams now and how they are coached, the courses have made an impact. The national team is playing with a defined pattern and even the youth teams and women teams have really improved because now teams are handled by qualified coaches,” he said.
“These coaching courses play a big role in the development of football in Kenya and if teams continue with the upward trajectory, there will be very big changes in the growth of our football,” he added.
Mbugi called on coaches to take advantage of the courses as the directive for coaches to have requisite qualifications as this is a directive from CAF. Noting that the coaches have been instrumental in empowering coaches to impact footballers in Kenya, Mbugi said that the courses need to be increased as he called on other players who hang their boots to take advantage of the opportunities and empower themselves with the capacity building.
Mbugi was among a class 25 coaches who have officially concluded their CAF B course at the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) marking the 5th CAF B course successfully conducted by the federation, in an effort to develop capacity building among coaches across Kenya.
Over the past eight years, nearly 10,000 coaches have been taken through the CAF coaching courses which make it one of the biggest flagship projects undertaken by the current FKF leadership to develop the standards of football in Kenya.