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In the sixties
and seventies were years of great rivalries between several
Kenyan teams mainly based on tribal affliations. These included
Abaluhya, maragoli, Luo Union, Gor Mahia, Ramogi and Feisal.
Fans of these teams were very passionate. The thought of a
player crossing from one team to a rival team was unthinkable.
It was in this environment
that Abaluhya football
club was formed via the amalgamation of Marama, Samia
United and Bunyore- all Nairobi-based clubs that were in
Division 1 of the Kenya Nation Football League. Other lower
division clubs such as Kisa, Tiriki, Bukusu Brotherhood, Busamia,
Lurambi, Butsotso, Bushibungo and Eshirotsa were included in the
amalgamation
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The first ever group photo of Abaluhya Football club taken in in 1964
Right
from its formation in 1964 , Abaluhya immediately became one of
the top teams in Kenya and East Africa as a whole. They
routinely drew capacity crowds to each of their league matches.
This was the height of popularity of Kenyan football. They went
on to win the League title in 1966, 67. Amongst the players in
this early era were Elijah Lidonde who was also the coach and
the legendary Joe Kadenge.
Joe Kadenge was the most famous of all Kenyan players in the 1960s
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In 1967,
Abaluhya provided 9 players to the national team that won the
inaugural East Africa challenge cup. The nine included Jonathan
Niva, Joe Kadenge, Anthony Mukabwa, Charles Makunda and Daniel
Anyanzwa. In 1968, the Kenya FA banned Abaluhya FC for refusing
to honor an important match whose guest of honor was to be Sir,
Stanley Rous, the then FIFA president.
By the 1970s, AFC Leopards had
grown
significantly stronger. There was Livingstone Madegwa who in
1972 was voted one of the best players in Africa. There were
other immensely talented players like Aggrey Lukoye who joined
veterans like Niva. AFC Leopards won the league without loosing
a match in 1973. |
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By the late seventies, the
club had been futher strengthened with the arrival of such
players as Joe Masiga, Abdul Barasa, and reliable keeper David
Kefa. Masiga who at the time was a Medical student at the
University of Nairobi, was also a member of Mean Machine rugby
football club.
Joe Masiga's combination of strength and speed sent shivers through the spines of many opponents.
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