Warring factions killing Kenyan football

Kenyan football has been going through a rough patch lately. It is quite easy to draw a parallel with the chaotic matatu industry where the rule of law is the exception rather than the norm.

Football has been hijacked by groups of people who have no tenderness for the sport. Going by the happenings on the field lately, it is easy to conclude that these often selfish groups of people are moved by the colour and scent of bank notes.

Individuals and groups fighting over the control of teams are not doing so out of great concern for their respective clubs, but for the advantage of controlling the purse strings. This unfortunate situation is responsible for the near demise of the once-popular sport in Kenya that brought diverse groups together out of love for the sport.

It started with the Football Kenya Federation and Kenya Premier League showdown that almost cost thousands of Kenyans their most cherished careers but above all, nearly robbed the country of its most dependable pillar of unity: football.

But even as the storm subsided, another feud found its way into individual football clubs. That AFC Leopards, a club that was once the epicentre of Kenyan football and one that would leave every football commentator talking about the game, is headed to the dogs, should make someone sad.

Last week presented confusing moments for sports editors across the country. They first broke the news about a lucrative deal with a betting company that would save AFC Leopards the shame of players going without salaries and being forced to live like paupers.

But even before the copy could be refined, almost immediately other reports emerged that the deal had been called off by the Sports Dispute Tribunal. This emerged even as two warring groups within the club, probably motivated by the desire to fleece the club – have emerged.

Such intrigues in the den can only be by people who do not care about the careers of players, the heritage of the club and the growth of soccer in Kenya. And they show their might whenever money is involved.

In The Standard newspaper of July 23, 2006, after the team was relegated, one could tell the sad tone of the editor when he chose the headline: Once proud ‘Ingwe’ bite relegation bullet. In such moments, the factions usually pack away their greedy tendencies and hibernate.

Last year proved to be such a testing moment for the club. The patience of the players was overstretched. For Kenya’s oldest club to be cash strapped to that limit without much being done to save it points to lack of sound management.

The constant push and pull, where sometimes two teams with the same name are training at different venues, only made it harder for well-wishers to come on board. The wrangling groups only painted a picture of people waiting for money to come in so that they could embezzle it.

When the two groups announced that they had reached an agreement with two different betting firms, one could feel the power of money as a factor driving the renewed interest in the club.

Both Sportpesa and Betway may have really thought hard before opening negotiations with groups of people whose legality is questionable. It is not always easy for any business person to invest their money in a project whose return is in doubt.

The team deserves proper elections. Poor management has seen the club make unpopular decisions that have taken the team to the brink of collapse. Things are not much different in most of the other Kenyan clubs.

The idea of ‘self-proclaimed’ club officials should not be tolerated by football leadership in Kenya. Transparency is wanting and such groups can easily make away with the meagre wealth of the team.

I still have the newspaper cuttings of AFC's heyday in my house. In particular, the 1998 photos when Leopards were last crowned the champions under the then Tanzanian-born coach Sunday Kayuni.

To win such trophies, the team recruited young talent every year from western Kenya, where they used to pitch camp for over a week in December. That model collapsed and it became all about the management.

Football management is an art. Its custodians must connect with the players and the fans. Fans bring in the revenue and the colour while players provide the reason for fans to flock stadia.

It is therefore worrying for wrangles to rock both football management at both club and national level. This culture should be stamped out and those propagating it locked out of football.

The prestige of the sport must be protected even as we do everything possible not to step on the wrong side of Fifa rules; an occurrence that could see the country banned from participating in international competitions.