2019 was a season of mixed fortunes for Kenyan football

Harambee Stars Musa Mohamed is beaten to the ball by Senegal's Sadio Mane during an Africa Cup of Nations match against Senegal in Egypt on July 1, 2019 [Courtesy]

From Harambee Stars’ historic return to Africa Cup of Nations finals in Egypt, to the withdrawal of sponsors, accusations of misappropriation of government funds at Afcon and cancellation of Football Kenya Federation elections, are part of what summarised the 2018-2019 season.

It was a season of mixed fortunes for national teams Harambee Stars (men) and Harambee Starlets (women) but a year that will be regarded as one of the worst in the Kenyan Premier League’s history.

Though Harambee Stars made a historic return to the continental showpiece after a 15-year hiatus, and with a government backing of Sh244 million, Harambee Stars’ results and overall performance proved that, once again, the national team was just not good enough.

The excitement that enveloped Stars’ qualification turned into disappointment as Stars had a below par outing in Cairo, winning only one of their three Group C matches.

And that was a 3-2 victory over Taifa Stars of Tanzania in their second match.

But everything never went according to plan with then head coach Sebastien Migne’s tactical ineptitude being exposed by the crème de la crème of the continental tournament.

Kenya lost 2-0 to eventual tournament winners Algeria in their opening match before losing finalists Senegal thrashed Migne’s boys 3-0 in the last group match.

Even before dust settled on Harambee Stars’ below-par performance, the local-based squad was shockingly eliminated from the 2020 African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifiers in front of their home fans at Kasarani Stadium by Taifa Stars on penalties (4-1).

Kenya fans in Egypt during the Africa Cup of Nations [Courtesy]

Stars went on to relinquish their Cecafa Senior Challenge title after suffering a humiliating 4-1 loss to minnows Eritrea in a semifinal match on December 17 at Lugogo Stadium in Kampala, Uganda.

But what followed after Kenya’s elimination from Chan was the termination of Migne’s contract on mutual consent. However, this came as no surprise as the Frenchman’s position had become untenable following his poor tactical approach, fielding and perceived arrogant utterances after international matches.

“Kenya will remain for me a great chapter of my life and such a wonderful country. We shared, together, beautiful emotions. This story began in the anonymity of a match in Machakos against Swaziland and ended with participation in the biggest event in Africa, the CAN 2019 in Egypt,” Migne said in a statement after parting ways with FKF.

“I am very proud to have helped put Kenyan football back on the map after 15 years of absence. During our qualifying campaign, we had a lot of hope with the fans, even though the reality of elimination against the two finalists reminded us how high the level is demanding and the way to go.”

And just after Migne’s exit, FKF reacted quickly to elevate Francis Kimanzi into the head coach role-his third stint as national team coach.

No sooner had the federation finished its national team transition than the Kenyan football suffered a major financial blow after gaming firm SportPesa withdrew its sports sponsorship in the country following a prolonged tax dispute with the government.

The Kenyan Premier League was the hardest hit as SportPesa’s departure left the league in dire financial straits. Apart from being the official league title sponsors (KPL were to receive Sh 259.7 million), the gaming firm also bankrolled record champions Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards.

At the moment, many teams are in need of financial assistance, while staring at relegation.

Sony Sugar were relegated last month from the topflight league for failing to honour three of their league matches.

This was aggravated by tough economic situations being experienced in the sugar-belt region that saw their parent sponsors Sony Sugar withdraw the sponsorship.

But Sony are not alone. K’Ogalo and Ingwe are also struggling to pay their players’ salaries, a situation that has forced a section of them and their coaches (Steve Polack-Gor and Casa Mbungo-AFC) to demand for their release letters over unpaid dues that are said to be for four months.

While Harambee Stars blew hot and cold, Harambee Starlets gave a good account of themselves in the continental scene.

Starlets missed out on a ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games by a whisker after losing 1-0 (3-2) on aggregate to Zambia’s Shepolopolo in the penultimate round of the qualifiers last month.

Unlike their men’s counterparts (Harambee Stars), who received a whopping Sh244 million for preparations and bonuses from the government after qualifying for Afcon finals, Starlets navigated through the Olympic qualification with minimal support from the government.

But the women team redeemed themselves by lifting their first-ever Cecafa Championship title in Tanzania.

Kenya dethroned their hosts Kilimanjaro Queens 2-0 to clinch the regional trophy.

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) equally had off the pitch issues to deal with ranging from accusations of misappropriation of government funding (Sh244 million) for Afcon and cancellation of their elections by the Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) due to improper composition of the Electoral Board and lack of public participation in the formulation of the Electoral Code.

“We as the National Executive Committee and football stakeholders at large met and though we respect the SDT and its decisions, we do not agree with the ruling,” said incumbent FKF President Nick Mwendwa after SDT’s ruling to nullify the results of the branch election and cancel the planned football presidential polls.

Despite all the challenges, Mwendwa has considered 2019 as the best year in his first term in office.

“As far as I’m concerned, this was our best year since coming into office. In terms of performance, Harambee Stars returned to Afcon finals, Starlets won Cecafa and our junior teams participated in regional and continental competitions. We also conducted many refereeing and coaching courses,” said Mwendwa.

“Of course we endured harsh economic challenges that affected the game, KPL in particular. It was sad to see Sony get relegated due to financial issues. Things became tough after the exit of some betting companies, but football still survived. We are looking forward to a better 2020.”