Life has not always been rosy for Kenyans who always support the national team, Harambee Stars, going by their not so convincing results.
Nonetheless, some performances by the team have been commendable.
Teamkenya.co.ke looks at some memorable Harambee Stars moments which made Kenyans proud.
Kenya vs Nigeria (1997)
In 1997, Kenya faced a star-studded Nigerian side that had just won the Olympics Gold Medal. The team had also won the 1994 African Cup of Nations.
Among the big names in the team were Nwankwo Kanu who played for Arsenal, Daniel Amokachi (Everton), Celestine Babayaro (Chelsea), Sunday Oliseh (Juventus) and Taribo West (Inter Milan) among others.
Kenya, under the tutelage of German Reinhard Fabisch, had a youthful side that comprised of 23-year-old Musa Otieno, John Luchuku, Josiah Ougo, Duncan Digolla, John “Baresi” Odhiambo, among others.
Ken Simiyu scored for Kenya, but Jonathan Akpoborie’s equalizer ended the tie 1-1, a positive result for the young Kenyan side.
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Qualification to 2004 AFCON
Kenya prominently qualified for the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations after coming out top of Group five in the qualification phase. The group comprised of Togo, Cape Verde and Mauritania.
Harambee Stars mastered four wins, against Togo (3-0), Cape Verde (1-0 at home and 1-0 away), and Mauritania (4-0).
At the final tournament in Tunisia, Kenya only won one match against Burkina Faso, but the overall performance was a proud moment for Kenyans.
Kenya vs Nigeria (2013)
Yet another match that made Kenyans proud was one against Nigeria in Calabar.
Ahead of the match, the team had poor preparations, and even trained at a dilapidated lawn that belonged to a primary school in Nigeria.
The players, however, dusted themselves up and fought out a 1-1 draw at a packed Abuja Stadium.
In fact, it’s Nigeria who had to salvage a point in the dying minutes of the match after Francis Kahata’s exquisite free kick.
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CECAFA 2013
Just when Kenya was celebrating its independence anniversary on Jamhuri Day in 2013, Harambee Stars also popped up to win the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup.
The final was marred with controversy after Kenya’s opponents in the final, Sudan, were locked up in their hotel just before the final over unpaid bills.
This caused a three-hour delay to the match but when it finally kicked off, two goals by Allan Wanga were enough to seal a memorable win for the Stars.
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Kenya vs Ghana and Ethiopia (2018)
In the run up to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, Harambee Stars picked up two crucial wins.
The first against Ghana was not foreseen, as the Black Stars boasted of a star-studded side. Michael Olunga scored for Kenya but despite Joash Onyango’s second half red-card, the Stars held on for a historic win.
Kenya would follow up with yet another win against Ethiopia, which ultimately sealed qualification to the continental showpiece.
The match, which the government sponsored free entry for fans, was attended by Deputy President William Ruto, who reiterated his promise that he would award the team Sh50 Million for their qualification for AFCON.
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