Hey wants player commitment for W.Cup qualifiers

AFP - 13 May 2009 17:50

Kenyan coach Antoine Hey, seen here in February 2009, said he was ready to axe players from the national team for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers if they failed to commit themselves to training.

NAIROBI (AFP) - Kenyan coach Antoine Hey on Wednesday said he was ready to axe players from the national team for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers if they failed to commit themselves to training.

Kenya face Nigeria and Mozambique in two crucial back-to-back matches next month and Hey wants the premier league clubs to sign forms of commitment to release their players unconditionally for national duty.

The coach said he wanted to avoid a repeat of a situation when he was forced to drop four players before the last qualifying match against Tunisia after their club defied his orders to release them for training.

But his directive has already sparked off a controversy with the head of the Kenya Premier League (KPL) Bob Munro announcing his resignation and some of the clubs insisting on holding on to their players until four days before the qualifying matches.

Hey named a training squad of 23 players who moved to the camp at Kasarani two weeks ago.

Kenya play Nigeria in Abuja on June 7 and host Mozambique in Nairobi two weeks later.