What ails Kenyan football?

By Simon Peter Owaka

The last major success for a Kenyan club was in 1987 when Gor Mahia won the Mandela Cup (Africa Cup Winners Cup). In the past two decades since, neither the national team nor our clubs have had anything to write home about as far as regional or continental contests are concerned.

Our less than average performance can be attributed to a number of issues. The incessant wrangling for control of the Kenyan game where there are two parallel offices claiming to run soccer has contributed in no small measure to the poor status of Kenyan soccer.

It is not lost on keen a observer that the wrangling has been brought about by greed on the part of our soccer administrators. Many of them are not in the federation for their love of football, but for what they can get. Indeed, many see football leadership as a springboard to wealth or parliamentary politics.

What these selfish administrators need to know is that soccer administration can be a fulfilling career in itself. They should borrow a leaf from world renowned soccer administrators such as Fifa president Josep Sepp Blatter and his predecessor Joao Havelange who have excelled in their careers.

Closer home we have the Cameroonian Issa Hayatou who has been at the helm at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for many years. Soccer administration should not just be a short-cut to riches or political office.

Another contributor to the sorry state of Kenyan soccer is the gradual decline of social clubs such as AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia.Re-Union, Shabana, Abeingo, Coast Stars are now defunct. The premier league is currently dominated by corporate clubs. This is not the way to go if we want soccer to develop to global standards.

IN THEIR HEYDAY, LEOPARDS AND Gor had a tribal base. It may be pointed out that tribalism is not necessarily a negative force. In fact, Tom Mboya wrote in his book Freedom and After that when the members of an ethnic group form a club to promote soccer talent among its members, then this is tribalism being put to good use.

Rivalry between the Luo and Luhya was intense on the soccer pitch but it inadvertently raised local standards. The national team was the envy of the region. The annual Cecafa Clubs' Championship was dominated by the two. It was not rare for the championship final to be an all Kenya affair whether it was played in Nairobi or other foreign capitals.

The high point for the national team was in 1987 during the All Africa Games that Kenya hosted. The stars felled some great teams such as Tunisia and Cameroon on their way to the final against Egypt, to which they lost.

The way forward then is for the Government to urge corporate organizations to concentrate on their core functions whether it is brewing, sugar milling or manufacturing. They should limit their participation to corporate sponsorship.

A good example is South Africa's giant, Castle. The brewer sponsors national and regional soccer championships but does not have a team of its own. Through this sponsorship, Castle manages to market its beer brands to the wide fan base that watches these matches. It is far much cheaper then to sponsor a championship or tournament than to operate a club.

The lack of a comprehensive youth soccer development programme has also undermined soccer. Such a programme ensures talent is identified and nurtured early, and the senior side get a regular supply of new talent. As it is now, our only hope for fresh talent is primary and secondary schools. Our talent pool should be far wider than this.

EDITOR'S NOTE- This article was first published in the Daily Nation on 31st December 2007. At the time, the author was a postgraduate student of journalism.