It feels good to write again in this column after a
two month hiatus…Well, this week I’ll try to be a bit patriotic and write about
our very own football, kenyan football for they say charity begins at home.
When you compare local football during the 70’s,80’s
and now, obviously there is a huge comparison. The development has somehow been
bitter-sweet, in the sense that, during its early days, it commanded a large
following and community based clubs were more in the premier
league as compared to now, the national team was also a force to reckon in
Africa, unlike now.
In my view, the only amelioration is that the league
now enjoys corporate sponsorship and thanks to SuperSport, the matches are
aired live across the continent.
However, even with the sponsorship and endorsements,
save for Gor Mahia and AFC and maybe to some extent Sofapaka, the other clubs in the top flight cannot be identified
with their fans.Simply put, the teams cannot fill their home grounds with atleast
1500 fans, unless they are playing against Gor or AFC, and even if they are
playing against Kenya’s big two, it will be the fans of K’ogalo and Ingwe who
will fill the stadia, regardless of whether they are home and away.
This can be attested as a result of preference to
European Leagues by Kenyans, corruption by the upper echelons of the
federation, lackluster performance of the national team and most NOTABLY the
less number of community based teams.
It is crystal clear that the avid Kenyan football fan,
myself included, would find it boring to go and watch a match pitting , say
Agro Chemicals versus KRA or Sony Sugar against KCB. To be honest it does look
like more of a corporate social responsibility charity match rather than a
league match! These are company clubs and thus cannot draw die hard fans, fans
who have grown up supporting such a club and even so, there can’t be any
rivalry amongst these clubs. Maybe in the business sector but not on the pitch.
Even in Europe, for example in England, the premier
league would not be attractive as it is now, if it had such as Tesco, Barclays
Bank and Burger King, going head to head with the likes of Arsenal, Man United
and Liverpool.
The point am trying to drive home is that fans would
be more in the stadia,and also the local banter and rivalry would be more
intense and enticing if say, there was a Lang’ata derby pitting Karen FC versus
Kibera All Stars or even a showdown
of Eastlands against Westlands when
Jericho FC were up against Kileleshwa United. With all kind of that, I think
the local scene would be more competent as fans would relate with their
hometown teams and embrace the league as their own with pride, instead of
substituting it with Europe. But as of now, we have to do with the influx of
Company-based teams.
By Anthony
Njoroge
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