By Fredrick Nadulli aka Razor,

On a regional platform,football in Kenya enjoys more television coverage than any of her closest neighbours,courtesy of pay channel Supersport.While the rest have nothing beyond terrestrial television,players from this country have the coveted opportunity of showcasing their skills via digital satellite,thereby attracting a wider,more lucrative appeal.

The trickle down effects have been immense.The top tier league has attracted an international influx besides gaining popularity,clubs have benefited financially and players have nailed better deals in greener pastures,all thanks to the power of live broadcast.

OTHER SIDE OF COIN

Reminiscent of good things that tag along unwanted baggage,the same coverage oft times exposes our hitherto unseen soft underbelly.

At a recent match beamed across Africa,title contenders Tusker,in their blind bid to keep up pace with the big boys,inadvertently fielded twelve players in what may go down as the goof of the season.With the clock running down,the former champions were so engrossed in hanging on to their slim lead,they failed to notice they had an extra man on the pitch.

That it took Muhoroni Youth midfielder Abbas Akinyemi to notice the oversight underlines just how fast asleep someone was on the job.The fourth official,as the person responsible for keeping match records,has some serious explaining to do.The match was subsequently called off.
Meanwhile,Tusker do not escape blame either.

Their technical bench must have someone,most probably the team manager,who calls and executes substitutions.It escaped his eye.The anomaly in a big way painted Kenyan football in bad light.It was a mistake that can only be excused in village competitions,not the creme-de-le-creme.

CROWD TROUBLE

Twenty four hours later,in a cup fixture of high stakes,and right before a continental audience,hooliganism reared its ugly head yet again.AFC Leopards fans,their side beaten fair and square,refused to accept defeat gracefully.

Ugly scenes were witnessed at the City stadium as goons masquerading as fans engaged police in despicable running battles.Children were caught in the crossfire and property damaged in scenes that drag Kenya many centuries back.

Sadly,our security apparatus never seem to learn.Kenyan cops have this misguided assumption that by showing up in a stadium dressed in full police regalia,security is assured.Most will be seen brandishing ceremonial batons.

The ones captured on television were seen taking off faster than confused fans,officials and players under a hail of missiles.Who protects these people when cops take cover?

During matches,its not unusual to see pockets of police officers chatting animatedly in the stands,enjoying the action and oblivious of any mischief taking place within the stadium precincts.It just goes to show how lightly we assume potential threats and misplace our priorities.

That a referee can be left at the mercy of bloodthirsty disgruntled goons points how inept security organs are.

With such scenes playing right before their very eyes,how does the rest of the continent see Kenyan football.I will always maintain that such scenarios shall only be contained the day people are arraigned before courts of law as individuals.

The thugs get away with it simply because they hide behind the facade of mobs.Kenyan society is lucky enough to have security units that deal with different specific situations.Administration police(APs) and the regular police,beyond lobbing teargas canisters,cannot deal with charged riotous crowds.

Football organisers should have known this ages ago.At times situations demand ‘Solomonic’ leadership as opposed to a ‘Samsonic’ approach,literally.For instance,these rotten apples can be picked out stealthily and prosecuted,to act as a future deterrent.

The police must come up with sly means to unmask these troublemakers,even if it means sitting amongst them incognito.
We will be the laughing stock if these people remain at large and run roughshod at every given opportunity.

It paints a really gloomy picture on television.Time is ripe to eradicate these vices.

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com