NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 10 – Nairobi United Technical Director Salim Ali has revealed they had intended to sign departed Kakamega Homeboyz defender Silas Abungana in the new season, having made initial contact to bring him to the Capital.
Abungana tragically passed away last week after an alleged attack following a domestic dispute, a death that has shocked the football community in Kenya.
“He is a defender that we had tracked for a while, and we wanted to sign him to Nairobi United. We had spoken to him initially, and it was a bit hard to bring him in this January because of contractual reasons, and we had an agreement to pick it up when the season ended,” Salim revealed.
He added, “He was a very good defender, one who suited our profile really well and it is sad how things have turned with him. It is a sad time for football in Kenya and we join his family and friends and the Homeboyz fraternity as well to mourn his untimely demise.”
Salim has gone on to stress how important it is for teams to invest in not just a coaching team but an overall bench that will also include psychologists and counsellors to take care of players’ overall well-being.
Salim said, “If you look at most teams, even Wydad, who we have just played, they have almost 30 people in their technical bench. They don’t just focus on coaching. Sometimes in Kenya you are told that as long as there is the coach, assistant coach, and goalkeeper trainer, the technical bench is okay. No, we need so much more because at the end of the day these players are human. They go through things, and they need people to talk to, not just friends but professionals.”
“At Nairobi United at least we are trying; we have not jyst brought in coaches, but we have people to talk to these players as well. We also have sort of ‘spies’ who tell us the movements of our players because we don’t want them getting into trouble,” adds the veteran tactician.
Salim has now called on clubs to invest in putting a keen eye on the players’ lives outside the pitch, as he argues it also plays a big role in performance.
