The way Forward for Kenya Football 

Attendance at local league matches has plummeted largely due to the fact that the league is currently dominated by institutional teams. Such teams cannot possibly draw fans to the stadia because fans do not have any emotional attachment to these teams. Tusker, previously Kenya Breweries has been atop the league standings since the early 70s yet they still play to empty stadia.

Interest in local football was at its peak in the 60s and 70s with teams like Feisal, Nakuru All stars, Kisumu Hotstars, Gor Mahia, Luo Union, Imara and AFC Leopards. Such teams drew emotional and committed supported from their various communities or towns.

In order for the local game to start drawing crowds again, the powers that be must take it upon themselves to revive community based teams. For example, many Nairobians, tend to identify with their neighborhoods. If the league had a team representing each constituency of Nairobi, the league could draw plenty of fan interest.

Even as recently as the late 90s, Gor Mahia and AFC were major crowd pullers

KFF must Establish & Support a team in each major town

Kenya football today is dominated by institutional teams as these are the ones that enjoy financial stability. For Kenyan football to progress, officials at club and national level must find ways to strengthen self supporting clubs. It is these clubs that can form a firm foundation for Kenyan football.

In the same way that Coast Stars of Mombasa was established, the KFF ought to establish one team in each of Kenya's main towns including Kisumu, Nakuru, Thika, Eldoret , Kakamega and so forth. These teams should be established along the lines of Coast stars but with better management. It is very important to assign competent managers to oversee these teams.

Local fans and local business's should be encouraged to support these clubs via monthly or yearly subscriptions which make them bonafide members eligible to vote.

North African teams like Zamalek and Esperance used this technique to perfection by taking advantage of their huge fan bases to build a solid financial base. They have used the money obtained from subscriptions to buy assets which then help sustain the club.

The city of Nairobi is large enough to support at least 3 or 4 teams each representing a region of the city. Mathare United is a classic example of a regional team which has been well managed over the years and thus has experienced success. Yet there is room for other such teams in Nairobi. One to represent Eastern Nairobi, another to represent Southern Nairobi which includes Kenyatta/Kibera/Langata, while Mathare Utd represents the Northern part of the city. Ideally Mathare Utd should change its name to encompas all of Northern Nairobi. By having teams representing a particular region, real cross city rivalries will be created, which will send fans flocking back into the stadia as they will have reasons to identify passionately with their teams. London is a an excellent example of a city where each team draws a core fan base from a specific part of the city. The result is that Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham and the rest have a core of truly commited fans.

Market these teams

The teams should then be aggressively marketed to the public living in those towns. The public should be encouraged to help support these teams financially through monthly or yearly subscriptions. Local businesses in these towns should also be encouraged to identify with their local teams as a way to reach out to fans. Players of these teams should be made to visit local primary schools to hold clinics. This creates interest among local school kids who will in the future be the fans filling the terraces.

Part of an aggressive marketing campaign that these new clubs will have to partake is public relations and promotional activities. These include having occasional open training sessions where the public can come and watch them train, visiting primary schools to help promote their teams and posing for photo ops with primary school children (future fans), touring various parts of the country to play freindly matches, sign autographs, photo ops and hold open training sessions, thus increasing their fan base nationwide.

North African teams like Zamalek and Esperance used this technique to perfection by taking advantage of their huge fan bases to build a solid financial base. They have used the money obtained from subscriptions to buy assets which then help sustain the club.

Sweden based Kenyan international, Tom Juma, is pictured above entertaining kids from his local town. European teams understand that the best way to create life long fans is to win them over while they are still young and impressionable. Which is why they encourage interaction between team members and primary school children as much as possible.

Accountability & Transparency

Since the public will be making monthly contributions, transparency is of utmost importance. Each team should produce monthly audited accounts to explain to the public how the funds are being used to run the club. This will inspire confidence in the public  who will then be willing to part with their hard earned money to support their teams. The key here is accountability from officials. Without it, fans will never become paying members.

Another key element is that club and national officials must keep the public up to speed on the happenings of their organizations. This means holding mandatory press conferences at least once a month. This will help maintain public interest in the clubs. The problem with present club officials (especially those at Gor Mahia and AFC) is that they are too secretive and thus fans tend to tune out because they feel left out of the day to day running of the club.

Run the clubs as Non Profit Organization

On the other hand when a team is community owned, subscribing members get to vote officials in and out and can thus hold them accountable via the ballot box. When fans feel engaged in the team, they are more likely to support it. One of the key reasons that fans have wthdrawn from Gor and AFC is that the officials have become so secretive and try to hide everything they do from fans.

Hold Elected officials to their promises

Also important is that club officials must be voted in my paying members. Before each official is elected, he or she must come forward with a plan of what he plans to do during his term. If at the end of his term he does not achieve those goals, he should not be allowed to seek re-election. National KFF officials should also be subject to the same rules. This will prevent national officials from seeking office for purely selfish reasons. And will also prevent officials who achieve nothing from staying in office for decades. (Like Hardev Singh of the Kenya Hockey Union). Subscribing Members of each club should also be allowed to vote in national elections. This way fans feel invested in the running of the sport nationally. The duties that each official is responsible for must also be clearly stated. For example, fans must know what the club chairman does as opposed to the secretary general. This way they know who to hold accountable if there is a failing in the club.

Give fans incentives to become subscribing members

When fans know that becoming paying members allows them to vote, they are more likely to want to become members. Furthemore, a club can offer members different levels of membership. Gold club members can be those who not only vote but also attend annual general meetings, get to hang out in the club house and meet players etc. The performance of club secretary generals should be measured based on how many members they add each year.

Develop Youth teams

Each of these teams should also establish an Under 16 as well as an under 20 team to tap the talent available locally and expose them to good coaching at an early age. Those who show potential can then be promoted to the senior team as time goes by.

In summary

I believe that with the right approach in terms of marketing, accountability from officials, keeping the public directly invested in the process and getting the right officials, technical and administrative, Kenya can match anybody. These ideas should not be limited to football. if anything they should be drafted into the constitutions of every team sport federation.

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