Hours after Federation of Kenya Football Chair Nick Mwendwa’s 10 hour meeting with Mike Okoth Origi, father to Liverpool player and Belgian International Divock Origi, word has it that Divock has agreed to play for Harambee Stars.
Divock, 20 who was born in Ostend Belgium, is expected to make the move after Mwendwa contacted a shocked Royal Belgian Football Association president François to initiate the process of switching Divock’s nationality, after he agreed to revoke his Belgian passport. The process, which is made possible by a FiFa Article that allows for a player to change citizenship before the age of 23, could see Divock switch to a much brighter national jersey pretty soon.
His decision, which comes barely days after Harambee Stars Lackluster performance in an Africa Cup Of Nations qualifier match against Guinea Bissau where the Stars Lost 1 – 0, already has some questioning the wisdom of his decision, given that the national teams management, which has been poor at best for the last two decades, is unlikely to reciprocate to Divock the kind of effort and commitment he is likely to give.
Kenyan football fans, who are currently receiving the news with cautious optimism to some extent feel that his decision, done out of love for his homeland, is likely to hurt his career.
That still does not dampen their expectations of a Messianic salvation of Kenyan football after the high profile gain of Divock await. Fans await patiently as events unfold. Divock is expected to go before a FIFA Committee on player status within the next two weeks, which will see him miss a couple of key matches for his club Liverpool.