The SPL awards happened last evening in Nairobi. While the victors are
basking in the glory of their achievement, there is hue and cry across
the entire football spectrum.
As the dust settles, keen observers will
be faulted for casting aspersions on the whole process, which was everything but convincing.
While the intent was to identify and
rightly reward the top performers in several categories, it ended up a
farce and left a bitter taste in many mouths.
PENNY DROP
Tusker coach Paul Nkata, as widely expected, ran away with the coach
of the year gong. The Ugandan, in his debut season with the Ruaraka
side, led them to an unprecedented double; the League title and GOtv
Shield.
For a team that defied all odds to sweep all before it,bookmakers expected their players to dominate most of the categories.
In an ironic twist, only goalkeeper David Okello and midfielder Humphrey Mieno made it to the final list of nominees after a stellar season.
Not even utility Shafik Batambuze got noticed, never mind he played an integral part in Tusker’s grand march and even earned the coveted call up to the Uganda Cranes.
When Western Stima rookie midfielder Kenneth Muguna was named the Most
Valuable Player you could hear a penny drop at the auditorium.
There was eerie silence punctured by muted murmurs. The reception was
palpable. He went on to scoop the Best midfielder award and emerged
second after Eric Ouma in the New Player Of the Year category.
What sent tongues wagging was how he came runner-up in the New Player award but went on to bag the grand Player of the Year.
Time and again questions have been asked about the criteria used to
come up with nominees and eventual winners in the gala.
That Muguna beat Humphrey Mieno, a league and cup winner and a cog in the Tusker wheel raised eyebrows on the formula used to arrive at the unpopular
verdict.
In the goalkeeping category, Patrick Matasi was voted Best goalkeeper.
The Posta Rangers shot stopper has received plenty of stick this year
for among others his unsportsmanlike antics like time wasting, yet he
managed to pip David Okello and Boniface Oluoch.
Okello was solely credited for keeping his side at the apex of the table with top drawer saves week in week out even as Gor Mahia pushed on relentlessly.
For the record Posta conceded 15 goals compared to Tusker’s 25 in the
championship. If that was a criteria for consideration Gor’s Oluoch kept more clean sheets than either, stood tall for Kenya but still emerged third.
The defending champions let in only 14 all season, the least.
The Defenders category put the icing on the rotten cake. Jockins Atudo
beat Musa Mohammed and Noah Abich to the crown but without a wholly
convincing perfomance to stake his claim.
While Musa skippered Gor Mahia to second place with some commanding displays and strong leadership, Abich almost single handedly kept Sofapaka in the top flight.
With their proverbial goose seemingly cooked, the veteran provided five crucial assists and kept a cool head to weigh in with five more goals that ensured Sofapaka steered clear of the dreaded
trap door.
Their 5-1 rout of Thika on the final day exemplified his mental strength and overall ability. With such statistics and more, one wonders what “magical formula” the organisers used to come up with the winners.
CASE STUDY
Cast your glance wider. Ballon d’or winner Cristiano Ronaldo swept the award by virtue of leading his club to the Champions League and his country to the Euros.
Such victories, even in the eyes of a layman, are easy to decipher and
leave very little room for speculation, if any.
Perfomance and statistics are the yardstick in coming up with such awards. The Kenya version was a sham.
Why cant we follow in the footsteps of more established and transparent cultures?
Granted, players need to feel appreciated and rewarded for their efforts in order to put in an extra shift in their fragile careers.
Apparently it will take a lot of convincing from the KPL, the SJAK-Sports Journalist Association of Kenya- and whoever sits on the selection panel to sell last night’s farce to a disgruntled public.
As it stands, this debate shall dominate local football circles for the foreseeable future.
Kenyan Premier League must immediately release the statistics used to to know how and why the players were nominated and later rewarded.
In the future they should also publish the names of the panellists like African football body CAF does and all the voting results put in public unlike now where they are shrouded in secrecy leading to a lot of talk across the country.
The big questions remains: What are the benchmarks?
