Olympic qualification within reach for Shujaa, says McGrath

Shujaa head coach Darmien McGrath hopes that Shujaa’s new sponsorship deal will motivate his side into qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games in France.

McGrath said his side must perform better for the remainder of the World Series season after a disappointing start that has seen them collect just nine points from the opening three rounds.

The Englishman assessed that his side has the capability to qualify for the games with adequate preparations.

“Our target is to get a medal at the Olympics, that is what we are working towards,” he said, “If you had asked me this over the summer when we were in Kasarani preparing for the Commonwealth games, I would have said that is a very achievable task.

“Our preparations since then have been disastrous, and I think it has been reflected in our performances,” he added.

McGrath also expressed hope that the side would put its well documented off-field issues behind it and correct the bad start to the season.

“If you think that we finished 6th in Los Angels in the last tournament of the season before and we are now near the bottom if not next to the bottom.If we can get our preparations right, then we can surprise more than a few teams.”

Kenya will have to put up with early pressure as they sit at the bottom of the log with one point with the threat of relegation looming this season as the number of teams for the 2024 Series will reduce from 16 to 12 to equal the number of women’s teams and align with the Olympic competition structure.