Mathare United proved their pedigree by stopping Tusker 2-1 in a top of the bill SportPesa Premier League (SPL) match at Ruaraka Stadium to maintain the top spot.
But the big question from the round seven of the league is why such a high level match was played in a stadium that remains in such a poor state.
The state of the pitch denied fans an opportunity to enjoy a match that was highly anticipated and at the same time endangered players owing to the uneven playing surface.
It raises the question on why Kenyan Premier League (KPL) lifted a ban that had been imposed on the venue without any major changes being undertaken and calls to question the company’s commitment to develop football.
Indeed, Mathare United coach Francis Kimanzi questioned the rationale of playing KPL matches at the venue.
“It is surprising that the KPL committee approved the venue for top matches. It is no way of promoting the league,” he said.
But GMT Ottieno, a member of the stadia and safety committee of the KPL, said he had been overruled by other members on a decision to strike out Ruaraka due to its poor state.
“As a committee, we made the recommendations to ban Ruaraka and stuck with the decision even after another inspection was done. However, some members of the committee overruled that decision and allowed the venue to continue to be used,” he said.
Tusker chairman Daniel Aduda said the decision to ban Ruaraka was in itself illegal.
“The stadia committee has no right to ban a venue. They can only recommend. In this case, they went over their mandate and we protested. Only the governing council can make such a decision,” he said.
Aduda said the club is working with the parent company East African Breweries Limited (EABL) to upgrade the facility.
“As a club, we have no capacity to do the work but the matter has been taken up by our sponsors who are working with a private developer to upgrade the facility to international standards. The process has started,” said Aduda.
Despite losing, Tusker coach Robert Matano took the loss positively and blamed his defenders for lack of concentration.
“It is bad losing anywhere, not just at home. Lack of concentration and poor defending cost us the game. In the first goal, the defenders left a free player in the box.”
