Touching down on a chilly August morning at the Aeroport Kanombe in Kigali,Rwanda for the 2014 edition of Cecafa club championship,the general organisation of this hilly landlocked nation of eight million people is breathtaking.
Two decades after the genocide that saw the country almost go to the dogs,cup sponsor and Rwanda president Paul Kagame has ruled the roost with an iron yet humble fist.Well lit infrastructure,cabro paved walkways,efficient public transport systems,armed and friendly police patrols plus cultured mannerisms among locals would make one believe they are in some Western capital.And for sport enthusiasts,the order in stadia and sports arenas would leave one drooling.
And so the participants from twelve nations descended upon Kigali,with the winners’ token of USD 30,000 firmly etched in their minds.Gor Mahia flew in as Kenya ambassadors.
EARLY STAGES AT AMAHORO
Amahoro stadium,the country’s largest arena,played host to the opening matches.Amahoro means ‘peace’ in Kinyarwanda.Ironically this is the place where the 1994 genocide perpetrators met to plan atrocities and dish out weapons for more killings.This time,football had come in torrential floods to wash all those painful memories away.And the teams did not disappoint.
With running wi-fi network systems,very clean washrooms,a manned media centre and a well manicured grass turf,all was set for a vintage club tourney.And it was live on air for those following through across Africa courtesy of Supersport.
Kenya champions Gor Mahia fell to KCCA of Uganda on day one having led for most of the match.That result should have sent alarm bells ringing as the tourney progressed because most of the ‘big boys’ notched up crucial wins.A day later,another regional giant El Merreikh shockingly fell to Police of Rwanda.
Burundi’s Vital’O and Tanzania’s Azam both signalled early intent with big wins over Banadir and KMKM of Somalia and Zanzibar respectively.And while El Merreikh recovered to thump Banadir in their second outing to get their campaign back on track,Gor lost yet again to Atletico.
From this point,the Kenyans were walking on thin ice and although they put up a brilliant display against APR,a last minute lapse in concentration meant they surrendered their lead and were on an early flight back home.Their last match against Telecom of Djibouti was a dead-rubber affair.
Some of the boys talking to Soka25East.com before they departed for Nairobi revealed deep underlying problems synonimous with Kenyan clubs.That it took a senior cecafa figure to at least motivate the players with USD 50 each left a lot to be desired.The club simply had no money to pay the players.
Be that as it may,no amount of money would have inspired Gor Mahia in Rwanda.They were a good side but the tournament had better,well-drilled and focused sides.
KNOCKOUTS AT STADE REGIONALE
With highly fancied Gor and other minnows already gone home to mummy,the quarter finals moved to the Stade Regionale,fondly reffered to as Nyamirambo.The stadium setting,just like Amahoro,was fantastic,the only difference being an astro-turf surface.
And so the big boys trooped into town.
Police,Rayon and APR carried the Rwanda flag,Atletico for Burundi,Azam Tanzania,El Merreikh Sudan,KCCA Uganda and Atlabara South Sudan.
Take nothing away from Gor’s perfomances,but this is where the real football took off.The Kenyan league may have grown in leaps and bounds,but on a regional platform,it is a far cry.Such tournaments are the yardstick against which teams from East and Central Africa measure themselves up.
The ball handling,speed of play,tactical finnesse and individual brilliance was way above the Kenyan setting.If our clubs and to a larger extent our national teams aspire to play and shine in continental stages,compared to what transpired at cecafa,we have lots of ground to cover.
Outstanding for APR were the mercurial Jean-Baptiste Mugiraneza,silky footed Jean-Claude Iranzi,captain Ismael Nshutinamagara and U-20 international Yannick Mukunzi.Rayon had Abouba Sibomana,Arafat Serugendo,Fuadi Ndayisenga and Yossa Bertrand.In the Azam ranks were John Bocco,Didier Kavumbagu and Ivorian twins Wilfred Bolou and Kipre Tche Tche.
For the Ugandans Bryan Umony and Bryan Majwega shone but it was eventual champions El Merreikh who produced the tournament revelations in all departments.
In goal they had Salim Magoola who stood tall,at the heart of defence Serge Pascal Wawa was a rock and in attack the pair of Allan Wanga and cheeky Malian Mohamed Traore,a defender’s nightmare who combined brilliance with an aura of arrogance.
TIE BREAKERS
In all,five out of seven knockout matches,from quarters to the final,were decided on spotkicks.Nerves of steel and daunting mind games came to play.The spirit of fairplay prevailed and Sudan giants El Merreikh eventually ran away with it.
Important to note was that regional clubs have put in place structures that enable them to churn out talent from their junior ranks and at the same time resources to buy and pay the best talent available on offer.For giants like Gor and AFC,their structures,if at all they exist,are built on quicksand.
These clubs,among the oldest in sub-saharan Africa,do not have permanent addresses they can call secretariats.Gor lost their lucrative deal with a dairy company and are now clutching straws to stay afloat financially.If,heaven forbid,AFC were to go the same route with their sponsor today,only goodness knows how their heads will stay above the water.
Hitherto small clubs like Azam have demonstrated that with proper planning and burning ambition,impossible is nothing.Hardly a decade old in the Tanzania top flight,they are today able to buy and sustain top talent from West Africa and the Carribean.
If Kenyan clubs do not put their act together soon enough,they shall play catch-up at every available opportunity.The football scales have tipped and we are playing the role of bridesmaids.At this rate,it wont be long before Somalia,Djibouti and even Chad condemn us to the backbanner.
Kenya smell the coffee.
N/B The writer is a former Kenyan International and Mathare United player
