The ebb and flow of Kenyan football has not skipped a beat despite Fifa ban

You have got to love Kenyan football, with or without a Fifa ban.

The passion, the pursuit of glory, the hunger for control, the propensity to make noise, the deceit, and the honest, hard work, plays out.

All for the love of the game.

Just the other day Kenya Police FC, who have shown their naked ambition of winning the Kenyan Premiership, organized a 10-day tour of Rwanda where they were scheduled to play a number of pre-season build-up matches.

The team, just a year old in top flight football, since their return after 16 years out, and bristling with heavyweight Kenya internationals the likes of Francis Kahata, Clifton Miheso, Musa Mohammed, Harun Shakava, and Duke Abuya, made a 25-hour 1,004-km road trip from Nairobi to Kigali expecting to play top Rwandan sides including Rayon Sports, only for the matches to be cancelled.

The reason was obvious. The international Fifa ban means Kenyan football cannot freely interact with the rest of the world, for now.

Police can at least visit the rain-forests of Volcanoes National Park and enjoy the sights and sounds of the rare mountain gorillas that Rwanda is famous for.

But seriously, only the football gods will understand how Police actually thought they would play these friendly matches.

What I can understand is Tusker’s hardline stance on their want-away Kenya goalkeeper Patrick Matasi.

I understand the accomplished goalie, formerly with St Georges of Ethiopia, has refused to train with the Brewers as he tries to force a move to Police.

Word has it that he even chewed fare – in this case a sign-on fee from Police before any terms between the two clubs had been agreed.

Tusker are adamant that Police must table a reasonable offer to get their man. Otherwise, no deal.

It reminds me of how Kenyan players are notorious for signing a deal with one club while picking a pay cheque from a different club.

If players routinely lie about their age, duplicity is not beyond their realm.

However, don’t Premier League clubs have systems in place to arrest these shenanigans? Not if club officials are deep in this dishonest game.

It explains why the two giants of Kenyan football, AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia, find themselves in a peculiar position.

They both announced hefty shirt sponsorships with betting firms – Sh195 million over three years for AFC Leopards from Betika, and Sh229.5 million over three years for Gor Mahia from Betafriq.

Easily, these are the biggest shirt sponsorship deals the two glamour clubs have penned, ever.

Based on their history, you would have expected K’Ogalo and Ingwe to go on a big-stars signing spree as they chase for glory.

No such thing is happening as both clubs are banned from signing new players by Fifa after short-changing some of their former players.

What a shame. I would not have minded reading about Leopards forking out Sh10 million or more to sign on a Cameroonian and Gor paying a similar amount to bring in a Brazilian.

The two clubs play to the gallery without a thought over long-term sustainability.

Meanwhile, Leopards were visibly relieved when their coach, Patrick Aussems, returned to Nairobi after an extended holiday.

Rumours were rife that the Belgian was leaving the den and had, in fact, signed for Rwanda Premier League side Kiyovu Sports, much to the consternation of the vocal Ingwe following.

Understandably, the whole AFC Leopards executive committee was at JKIA last week to receive Aussems as if he was a prodigal son.

Kakamega Homeboyz had no issues parting ways with their achieving coach Bernard Mwalala.

The former Kenya international guided the Kakamega side to their best ever showing in the Premiership, second and tied on points with the winners Tusker. But he still got the boot.

What about title winning Robert Matano, who, no sooner had he clinched the 2021/2022 crown with Tusker than he dramatically stated that he was not appreciated and he was going to go where he was valued.

Well, well, well, he is still at Tusker preparing for the new league campaign.

So too is Gor Mahia’s Irish coach Johnathan McKinistry. To my memory, at 37 years, he is the youngest foreign coach to have handled a Kenyan Premier League side.

Will he manage to handle the demanding and long-suffering Green Army that has gone two lengthy years without a trophy?

Teams have intensified their pre-season training yet the league kick-off is not certain. Also uncertain is who will run the 2022/2023 competition.

The government-constituted FKF Transition Committee (TC) announced September 10 as the date for the start of the top flight league.

But some ad hoc Football Kenya Federation Management Committee is opposed to the league being run by the TC and has called for a meeting on Friday to discuss the way forward, as no doubt some members jostle for leadership positions.

Opinion is divided on the work of the TC. A section of the football fraternity started celebrating last week following false information that the Sport Dispute Tribunal had ruled the 2020/2021 league run by the body was a nullity.

In fact, the John Ohaga-led sports judicial body had only faulted the committee in its handling of league disputes.

Truth be told, the football fraternity is not happy with the continued stay of the committee.

Why is this team still managing football almost a year from the time the Sports CS Amina Mohammed disbanded the federation and formed the committee with a very clear six-month mandate?

Now everybody is hoping that the in-coming government, like a miracle worker, will sort out Kenya’s troubled football and we will rejoin the Fifa family.

We will then get back to square one. Again.

[email protected]