Kenyans are sitting back and watching in disbelief as the KFF and KPL groups who fought so hard to gain control of their respective organizations are now sitting back with a smug sense of entitlement, content with their respective victories and doing nothing as Kenya football continues to sink to lower depths. As of July 21 2007, Kenya had slumped to its lowest FIFA ranking ever (137), the KPL league still plays to empty stadia, there are no plans for youth development schemes, women's football is as good as dead but the KFF and KPL sits back content wit their victories while others plot their forays into politics.

Kenya football has sunk to the deepest depths as evidenced by its double loss to Eritrea. We wonder what KFF are doing to remedy this situation

Before the current KFF leadership took over the sport, there was a bitter power struggle in which Kenya was suspended by FIFA with the threat of missing out on the 2008 and 2010 Africa nations cup and the World cup. Kenya was banned because Minister Kamanda had dissolved the KFF leadership led by Alfred Sambu and Dan Omino and appointed an interim group led by a Dr. Mtana Lewa. Mr. Kamanda is to be commended for taking this action. He like many Kenyans patiently waited for Sambu and co to get their act together but it was all in vain. Kamanda's only mistake was not consulting with FIFA on his decision. FIFA will always have the final say. At first FIFA were silent. But soon the scheming Mohammed Hatimy cozied up to Bob Munro, knowing fully well that if he got Mr. Munro on his side, FIFA would back him. Munro suddenly begun to sing Hatimy's praises. Hatimy and co then went to court and won an injunction making him KFF chairman. FIFA threw their weight behind the Hatimy group. The interim KFF group led by Dr. Lewa refused to budge and FIFA suspended Kenya. FIFA finally re-instated Kenya when Kamanda agreed to let the Hatimy group take over.

The irony of all this is that Hatimy, Kasuve and co have always been part of the grand corruption and incompetence that has plagued the local game. Furthermore, if FIFA were to play fair, it is Sambu who should be KFF chair as he was legitimately elected.

As for KPL, they have been fighting bitterly to remove community clubs from KPL. At one point, a few KPL clubs led by Tusker, Mathare, and Thika utd decided to break away and form their own parallel league. They were sure that with good organization, they could attract sponsors, bring in the crowds and make their league popular and profitable. Ha ! The Kenyan public are no longer holding their breath on this one. KPL it appears has no clue about how to market their league.

Now that both KFF and KPL have gotten what they wanted, where are all the promises they made ? Sure KFF payed Harambee stars allowances on time for the first time in years. But Kenya's problems go far deeper than non-payment of allowances. There is no system to scout the best young footballers and expose them to good coaching at a young age. When French coach Bernard Lama held his 1st training session with the Harambee stars, he was appalled at the lack of basic ball control and basic technique. It is no wonder that Kenyan players routinely flop at European trials. It is not for lack of talent.

Young players playing in dusty fields with no proper coaching or development will lead to another generation of talented but fundamentally flawed players

Why is womens football still neglected ?

What steps have they taken to address corruption ?

Where is the public relations campaign to win back the confidence of the public ?

Neither KFF nor KPL have attracted new sponsors, this at a time when sponsors like Coca Cola, Barclays and Safaricom are throwing their money at other sports such as marathons, rallies, schools sports etc etc. Its embrassing when you cosnider that football is by far the most popular sport.

Some companies like Safaricom, Coca Cola and Barclays have even opted to sidestep KFF and KPL and create their own tournaments. This lack of confidence in KFF and KPL is embrassing yet they are not doing anything to win back confidence from the public or the private sector.

As for KPL, the fact that the terraces are still empty reflects poorly on them. For a league to become popular, a sustained public relations campaign must be launched. Star players must be promoted, rivalries must be hyped up. A media blitz in newspapers, radio, internet and TV must be launched to profile and promote players and teams. Teams have to play friendlies in all corners of the country and invite fans to watch for free or for a pittance. Players should go out and meet fans, especially young fans. Players and coaches must makes themselves available for interviews. Allow kids accompanied by parents to watch league matches for free. This is the kind of marketing blitz that the EPL uses to sustain its popularity worldwide. The mass media must be saturated with storylines, interviews and match reports. The key is to get the public talking about local foootball again. But most importantly, the public must be given a reason to get excited This is 2007 yet neither KFF nor KPL has a regularly updated website. Often match reports do not even appear in the dailies.   It appears that KPL are under the impression that all they need to do is schedule matches and that fans will soon realize that good football is being played and return to the terraces. How laughable. Worse still, KFF and KPL and their respective clubs are still very secretive. How can we forget Erastus Okul infamously saying that club officials would like to keep club affairs away from members and fans ? In other words, keep the public in the dark on all issues regarding the club. Hows that for public relations ? And you wonder why fans are slowly tuning out and going to the EPL ?

KPL seems under the impression that all they need to do is organize matches and fans will return to the empty stadia

Its true that Mathare United has done a lot over the years to help youngsters get their life in order. From a social perspective, Mathare united has been excellent. But from a footballing perspective , Mathare has fallen short. About 20 years after its formation, the club has no committed fan base and still plays to empty stadia week in week out. The much vaunted Mathare youth system has yet to send any players for successful trials with a club in a top Euro-league.  And Mathare has had no impact at continental level.

 KFF and KPL are clearly lacking visionaries and men of action. Kasuve has never had the interests of the game at heart. He fights like a terrier to maintain his own vested interests even when those vested interests hurt the sport. The only thing Sammy Obingo and Jack Oguda are good at doing is organizing fixtures for the nationwide league and the KPL. But that's a trivial task. As 12 year olds growing up in an Nairobi estate, me and my friends organized inter-estate leagues during school holidays. As for Hatimy, he has done very little to win back the public's confidence. I am sorry but fans are so far removed that paying stars allowances on time will not bring them back. They have had to suffer through almost a decade of sheer incompetence and corruption, culminating in humiliation by tiny Eritrea.

Kenyans are now scratching their heads wondering why the current crop of KFF and KPL fought so hard to gain control of their respective organizations, even to the point of establishing parallel leagues and getting Kenya suspended by FIFA. Even as Kenya football plunges to its lowest depths, a fire has not been lit in these officials. The likes of Kasuve are busy plotting their political careers. Nobody knows what Hatimy is up to.  Now it could be that some work is being done behind closed doors. But in order to assuage the public, KFF and KPL must go public with concrete plans and show evidence of progress. Kenyans are tired of promises that are never followed by action. These officials need to work hard to get the public excited about football again. They badly need to get a clue.

Kenyan fans seem to have had enough and are no longer showing up for national team matches

Send us your comments on this article

We have noted your comments and concerns on the KPL. Indeed, you are quite right in your vision for what Kenyan soccer should be doing. What you may not know is that we are already down that road, you would be surprised at how far we have gone in regard to making plans for the future of our league.
Suffice it to say, KPL is the second league in the whole of Africa to be owned and managed by member clubs, after the South African PSL.
Let me put this into perspective for you, we have just come from the most bruising battle for the legitimacy of the league that even caused us to be banned from International football for 5 months, the country is still jittery from all the bad publicity surrounding the game here. Surely, which sponsor will feel confident enough to put their brand or money anywhere near Kenyan Football...? Would you?

We hope we will continue to expect your goodwill in the years to come.

Gerald Chege (Thika United & KPL)

Justus Nyatwanga