Nick, where is the promised replica kit?

Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa

That Kenyan sports fans are hard to impress is a fact many coaches of different disciplines know only too well, and they never waste an opportunity to express their frustrations.

During those rare occasions when they address the press, they always say people are not acknowledging the progress their teams are making or have made.

Even when fans acknowledge the progress, they always fall back on what people once said when the teams were not doing well, and answer questions they have not been asked.

For coaches, who manage Kenyan teams, and especially those that are Kenyans, complaining about fans or sounding frustrated that their efforts are not being acknowledged seems to be the default mode and accepting the truth, or the reality on the ground, is never easy and also never an option.

Of course, fans always complain, and Kenyans are wired that way because there are different interests at play in every sport, but there is nothing wrong with accepting or telling the truth when you are called out or when you come out on your own to explain how things are in your camp.

Warded off

Telling the truth or simply being truthful seems to be the hardest thing for both coaches and sports administrators in Kenya. Ask them any question and the first thing they see is an enemy that needs to be fought, to be warded off, to be confused.

They see conspiracies everywhere, probably because deep down inside they know their dealings are never clean, and that the ways through which they got elected or appointed, were not free and fair or transparent.

While they are good at whining about fans who are hard to impress, and how their inability to acknowledge progress affects the morale of their offices and charges, they have totally refused to admit that they are the biggest culprits and that their lies inform the behaviour of the fans and generally play a big role in affecting the overall performance of their charges.

For instance, it is a fact that the national Sevens rugby team is not in a good place and shape, and the whole world knows that, but instead of accepting that things should and can be better, the office and the technical bench, and should I add their cronies, have only been seeing enemies in the fans, and some people their label outsiders.

It could have been easier to look inward and effect changes or improve the conditions that are putting the team in such a bad place, but apparently, the easiest thing to do is look for enemies out there, and label them outsiders and then start fighting them by spreading lies about the state and the performance of the team which anybody can see is poor.

I have mentioned the Sevens team because it is just the latest example of that rot, but it does not mean that things are any better in other federations. The rot is most probably worse and has eaten into the sport deep to the bone that the office bearers and coaches do not have the ability to tell any more lies, but the truth will always come out when the players take to the field.

Ironically, in as much as fans are not easy to impress, they are also easily excitable, at times, an attribute that office bearers have known how to exploit — of course through lies.

Things move from bad to worse because of this collective weakness of getting easily over-excited when there is a flicker of hope at the end of tunnel made dark by office bearers and coaches through lies.

Complaining

For several years, Kenyans have been asking, nay complaining, about Harambee Stars’ kit, considering that they are never sure how the kit looks, where to get it.

For years, they have never known who the kit supplier is and how the deal was struck, how much it was worth and for how long that contract will hold.

When the team is going to play, they never know what colours the players are going to wear and above all, they have never known who gains from the “replica” jerseys that they have.

However, a few weeks ago, Nick Mwendwa, the Football Kenya Federation boss made an announcement that got Kenyans all excited.

Mwendwa said Harambee Stars got a kit in a deal worth several millions, which would see all national teams kitted, home and away for many years. We saw the samples and we were happy and excited.

He made us happier some more: He said replica jerseys would be available for fans from June 1 and at only Sh2,500. We believed him the more because we knew he was saying the truth.

Well, five days later, we have not seen anything yet – and he hasn’t spoken about it.

He also did not say what percentage of this Sh2,500 will go to the team or his office.

The writer is an editor with the Standard, Weekend Editions