AFC can go all the way and lift cup in Sudan

By Sean cardovillis

It’s been another eventful week for local football both on and off the pitch.

Supersport commentator Herbert Mwachiro, who is the local football analyst on my Saturday Sport show on Nation FM, has the latest:

The highlight of the week was AFC Leopards finally confirming Dutchman Hendrick Pieter de Jongh as head coach, although Ingwe have been fined Sh500,000 and Thika United awarded 3 points by the Independent Disciplinary and Complaints Committee for fan misbehaviour.

The team and their new head coach are currently in Sudan for the Nile Basin Cup.

Meanwhile Gor Mahia received a boost this week after being presented with kits by Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero, with the governor promising that wide-scale renovations of the rundown City Stadium will start in July.

Massive match

K’Ogalo themselves have a massive match at the new Meru Stadium tomorrow, when they face Tusker in a Top 8 semi first leg clash.

Tusker had 5,000 fans attend their last match in what is proving to be a very good investment. 

Speaking of stadiums, Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago visited the Machakos Stadium this week and confirmed that his county would soon be investing in a stadium of their own.

In selected Kenyan Premier League games, there were good wins for Gor, Sofapaka and Tusker, while promoted KRA continued their amazing form by beating Thika United 2-1.

Top Fry’s point against Mathare also earned them a dubious distinction – no team has had a worse start to the league since 1999.

Meanwhile, Harambee Stars are back in camp. They will leave on Wednesday for their Africa Cup Of Nations pre-qualifier return leg against the Comoros on Friday.

By the way, congratulations to four Fifa accredited referees, who will be officiating a Confederations Cup group stages match in Tunis tomorrow between hosts Etoile Du Sahel and Egypt’s Al Ahly.

Sylvester Kirwa is the centre referee, Peter Sabatia and Gilbert Cheruiyot are the first and second referees, while the fourth official is Anthony Ogwayo.

For a moment, I was really excited this week to hear of Willy Ambaka returning to the Kenya fold, as he was recalled along with a select group of Kenya national sevens players that included Collins Injera and Patrice Agunda to bolster the national fifteens team for the international friendly against Portugal.

Excitement Builds

However, that happiness turned to sadness as the Kenya/Portugal match was cancelled due to the ongoing travel advisory, which is hitting the Kenya tourism industry hard.

Ambaka had a great season in France, propelling his Lyon-based team Lou into the first division of the French league.

Let’s hope at some point in the future he’ll be able to play for Kenya, as the man nicknamed ‘Lomu’ would definitely bring in the crowds!

As for the national fifteens team, expect some of the national sevens boys to join the squad as they push to qualify for next year’s World Cup in England and Wales. The team that was in South Africa for the Vodacom Cup apparently gained a lot of experience and will be ready for those two qualifiers.

The plaudits continue to flood in for Top Fry Nakuru RFC, who added the Kenya Cup to their Enterprise title.

Under coach Dominique ‘Papa’ Habimana, the team’s mental strength, blending together and hard work have made the team untouchable in the fifteens game.

The rugby fraternity will now concentrate on the Bamburi Super Series and Chairman’s Cup this weekend in what is an extremely busy period for the local game, while the younger generation will be attending the extremely popular annual Black Rock schools rugby festival, which I remember fondly from my school days!

Sports Sponsorship

Well done to Onkar Rai and his family. After speaking to him on my radio show this week, I am very impressed by the investment his family’s group of companies has put into local sport.

Through their Top Fry brand, they are sponsoring Kenya Cup winners Nakuru RFC and Kenyan Premier League side Nakuru, who claimed the notable scalp of Gor Mahia, along with former Kenya National Rally champion and winner of the KCB Kiambu Rally Carl ‘Flash’ Tundo.

Rai’s sister company Kabras Sugar sponsors the rally team of himself and Baldev Chager, the reigning Kenya National Rally Champion, 2013 Safari Rally winner and Kenya Motorsports Personality of The Year.

I’m pretty sure the companies are involved in other grassroots sports programmes, making them one of, if not THE biggest investors in Kenyan sports today.

Rai’s family is an example for other Kenyan companies to invest some of their earnings in sport and help raise the standards to those of countries like South Africa, where private firms heavily invest in various sports teams and individuals.

I’ve said it before in this column – the Government needs to create a ministry of sport. If countries like South Africa can have a minister of sport than so can Kenya!

This country has so much potential and other sports teams and personalities bring so much glory internationally that it’s high time the Government took this department seriously rather than ‘hiding’ it with culture.

Indeed, our local sports associations can learn one or two things from associations in other African countries.

I was looking for something on Ghanaian football during the week and stumbled on GFA TV, Ghana Football Association Television – a channel solely dedicated to Ghanaian football. Food for thought, Sam Nyamweya and the Football Kenya Federation!

The writer is a sport journalist and runs a consulting firm.    

sean@seancardovillis.co.ke