Harambee Stars Abroad: Kenya Earns Praise for Exporting More Players to Europe than South Africa

Kenya continues to have an increased presence when it comes to players in leagues across Europe and this is earning the country admiration, respect and from praise.

Currently, there are three Kenyan players signed to La Liga teams, as many in the English Championship, with a presence in Sweden, Netherlands, Scotland among others and the rest of Africa is beginning to take notice.

South African football agent Matthew Moore of Centre Circle has decried the low number of South African players in Europe, reserving praise for Kenya for sending many footballers abroad, despite being miles apart when it comes to football resources and development of the game in the two countries.

Moore wonders why South Africa, which has one of the richest leagues in Africa, is being trumped by Kenya when it comes to the number of players they are sending to Europe.

"I was just really looking through it before I came on you and they [Kenya] have players playing in Holland, they have Denmark, two in France, we have AIK in Sweden, Valencia, Celta Vigo, Sociedad, two in Charlton Athletic, Wrexham so why is it that you know us as a nation we have a lot of more to invest into the game than you know countries like Kenya why don't we have that kind of representation abroad?” Moore posed when speaking to Metro FM as quoted by Soccer Laduma.

The agent feels while other countries are being realistic in valuation of their players, South Africans are missing out because clubs in the country are quoting huge transfer fees that put off potential suitors.

"I think we are pricing our players out of moves to Europe and I think you know a lot of, I've seen others… you know I've watched the show [and] I've seen other agents come and they say the same thing but trust me when I say like no one has done more moves to Europe than us in the past five years of any South African agency," he added.

Kenyan players are always on the lookout for opportunities to play in Europe and while there have been success stories, others fail to make it and return home.

However, there is also the aspect of the salaries paid in South Africa with some Premier Soccer League clubs paying the same or better than some lower-ranked leagues abroad which makes South African players comfortable to play at home.