Williamson switches from club to country in Kenya

Bobby Williamson

August 6 – Bobby Williamson (pictured) has been named as the new Kenya coach to take over from Adel Amrouche who was fired at the weekend along with his entire staff following the country’s elimination from the 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifiers when they went down 1-0 on aggregate to Lesotho.

The 52-year-old Scot, who has managed in the lower leagues in England, is best known for twice taking Uganda to the verge of qualifying for the Nations Cup – in 2013 they were denied only by a penalty shoot-out loss to Zambia.

His latest role was coach of Kenyan club champions Gor Mahia, whom he led to the title last season at his first attempt.

The appointment of Williamson comes despite Amrouche’s insistence he has not even been informed he is no longer employed even though he is currently suspended anyway by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for allegedly spitting at an official during another qualifier against Comoros in May, a sanction he is appealing against.

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) chairman Sam Nyamweya said they settled on Williamson due to his long experience in African football. He also defended the decision to sack the entire Kenyan technical staff immediately after the 0-0 draw at home to Lesotho. “They had to go,” he said. “The team they fielded on Sunday…if I was a coach I would not have fielded that team, it was pathetic.”

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