2015 – It was another year of mark timing in Kenyan football.
Like a rocking chair, Kenyan football once again appeared to be making a step forward this year, only to regain it’s spot at the initial axis. Hopes of fans starved of glory for many years were again raised only to be sacrificed at the alter of incompetence and mediocrity.
Not to say all was doom and gloom, there were silver linings amidst lows. For the enthusiasts of the top flight league football, it was a mixture of bitter and sweet, in a season punctuated by a goal fest yet to be witnessed in the local scene in ages, on one hand, and off the field cries of the entertainers (players) who could barely make a living from their toil due to delayed salaries and allowances, on the other hand.
Kenyan Cup (GOTV Shield) for the first time in as many years went outside Nairobi after Mombasa based Bandari won it for the first time in their history – raising excitement in the coastal town and giving the oldest tournament in the country a fresh breathe of life. And how can we forget the story of Michael Olunga, the 21 year old Kenyan international striker who burst into limelight for his never ending appetite for scoring goals for both club and country.
Kenyan Premier League
The big boys’ league finally kicked off on February 21 after a protracted battle between Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and the league body Kenyan Premier League Limited over the former’s demands to expand the league to 18 teams from current 16.
It took the intervention of the world governing body FIFA through a special committee headed by Ghana FA president Kwesi Nyantaky to restore order, in a deal which maintained KPL’s status as the top league while the parallel FKF-PL becoming the second tier league. The push and pull threatened the relative peace KPL had enjoyed since it’s inception in 2003, and for the first time there was to promotion and relegation of teams.
When the rubber finally hit the road, Gor Mahia made history, becoming the first club to win the league unbeaten twice, 1976 and 2015. K’Ogalo under Frank Nuttall managed to defend the crown for the third time on the trot in a 24-6-0 (24 wins, 6 draws and no losses) spectacular fashion.
Ulinzi Stars managed to give a spirited chase but could only manage a second place finish – 20 points behind the 15-time champions. Sofapaka finished third with Muhoroni Youth pulling their best ever performance for a fifth spot finish.
For former heavyweights Tusker and AFC Leopards who finished 5th and 7th respectively, it was a season to forget, probably their worst in the recent past. The Brewers Tusker despite the immense resources at their disposal and having signed top talents, failed to sparkle, finishing outside top three for the first time in as many years.
“Ingwe” on the other hand played more off the field than on it – their perennial in house fights escalated to whole new heights as different camps claimed the leadership of the 13-time champions.
This was the 52nd edition of the league and with it came a goal fest yet to be witnessed in the current version (KPL). A total of 534 goals were celebrated, 83 more than last year’s tally – the league top scorer Jesse Were of Tusker FC crossed the the twenty goals mark with 22 goals,this, a first since 2008; he was followed by Michael Olunga of Gor Mahia with 19 goals. Olunga scored a total of 40 goals in all competitions to earn himself the most valuable player tag, and it came with a handsome reward.
Kenya’s representatives in the continental football failed again to reach the group stage. Gor Mahia exited at the first round of the CAF Champions League after a 2-0 aggregate loss to AC Leopards of Congo Brazzaville. Sofapaka didn’t go past the preliminaries of the CAF Confederations Cup falling to FC Platinum of Zimbabwe.
Harambee Stars.
The national team once again showed promise but again faltered at the most crucial hour thanks to the poor manner in which the team is handled by the federation.
Kenyans’ wait for maiden appearance at the World’s biggest football extravaganza was prolonged even further after the team crushed out of the road to Russia 2018. Kenya pulled a shocker at home beating top four ranked Cape Verde 1-0, raising hopes of a new beginning only for the team to crumble 2-0 in the reverse tie in Praia.
Under Bobby Williamson, the team failed to qualify for the U23 AFCON, CHAN 2016 and are looking set to exit the road to AFCON 2017. The team also failed to defend their title in the CECAFA Senior Challenge which they exited at the quarters.
In all these, the constant remained ill preparations and the general mismanagement of the team. The bangled trip to Praia, Cape Verde for the return leg match of the World Cup qualifiers where they arrived hours to the match summarized the mistreatment the team receives from FKF.
Stars however managed to break into top 100 in the latest FIFA Ranking which placed them at 98, thanks to the giant kill against highly ranked Cape Verde.
Women football league failed to kick off for the second year running – the women national team failed to qualify for the Olympics, as the same script of never making it to global/continental tournaments replayed.
As we welcome 2016, we can only hope for the better, a paradigm shift in the way we view and handle this game, which holds so much hope for many involved in it. The prayer of many is that the ongoing FKF polls will churn out the best to handle the game, those who will finally break the ice of mediocrity.
@bonfaceosano
