Kenya remain upbeat despite quarterfinal exit at Phygital Contenders tournament

Esports Team Kenya/ HANDOUT

President Ronny Lusigi remains optimistic about Kenya's prospects after a spirited debut run at the Phygital Football Contenders Tournament ended with a quarterfinal defeat to Brazil.

“This being our debut, I can say the boys did well,” Lusigi said. “The first objective was to qualify for the Contenders. The second was to get out of the group. We fell just one step shy of the big goal, booking a ticket to the Games of the Future.”

Despite the exit, Kenya’s performance was the Best among African nations, having topped Group 'E' ahead of esports giants USA and Uzbekistan to reach the last eight on their international debut.

 “Our focus now is to give the players more international exposure,” Lusigi said. “We hope that, as the top-performing team in Africa, we shall be given one of the six invitational slots (to the Games of the Future).”

The Games of the Future tournament is scheduled forAbu Dhabi in December. 

The World Phygital Community has six additional spots reserved for invited teams, which are awarded based on rankings and global representation.

The invitations will be issued later in the year.

Only four teams - Brazil, Armenia, Bosnia and Mexico booked automatic tickets to the prestigious Games of the Future set for December 18-23.

“It was a great outing for the boys,” said Lusigi. “We missed the automatic qualification by just one match, but with the lessons we’ve picked, we guarantee you that Kenya will come back stronger.”