Fans starved of stadiums that used to host KPL ties

A worker doing final touches at Nyayo Stadium on January 12, 2025 ahead of CHAN draw. [Stafford Ondego, Standard] Murang'a Seal Football Club play their home games at Sportpesa Arena in Murang'a. It is a new facility that doesn't have a paved access road. However, they have done their best to maintain the playing surface which is better than several other KPL venues. However, the club is very visionary as the grounds is in what can be described, in the middle of nowhere. This gives them room for expansion. It was called Sebastian Park until betting firm Sportpesa sponsored Murang'a Seal and branded their home ground. Other clubs like Kenya Police FC have also hired the ground for their home matches as Police Sacco Stadium is under renovation for CHAN. It got me thinking about venues that once hosted top flight matches back in the 1980s and 1990s. Let us begin with Dedan Kimathi Stadium in Nyeri, which was Nyeri Municipal Stadium before it changed its name after NARC came to power in 2003. Mount Kenya Textiles from Nanyuki and Nyeri Stima FC played their home matches in this stadium. Back then, it had wooden terraces where fans sat on and teams went to play in Nyeri. This happened until Kenya Power and Lighting Company disbanded Nyeri Stima and later established Western Stima. Nairobi Stima FC also remained playing in the lower leagues. The late Henry Omino played for and coached Nyeri Stima before moving to coach Kisumu Posta and later Western Stima. Ken Kenyatta was at one time their goalkeeper as well as a host of other great players. Meru Kinoru Stadium is now modern and refurbished. Mafuko Bombers, later Kisima Bombers FC, played their home matches in Meru for some time. The stadium was fortress where teams struggled to beat the home team. This happened until the turn of the century when Kisima Bombers was relegated and no team in Meru has managed to play in the top flight. Tusker FC later moved their home games there when Ruaraka grounds could not host matches. Kenya Breweries Limited-owned Ruaraka Stadium also hosted matches until it was recently blacklisted. It is also a private members club for Kenya Breweries employees. It now hosts lower division league matches. Kenya Breweries FC, later Tusker, played their home matches there where they were notorious for preventing teams from getting points. Kitale Municipal Stadium hosted the matches for Barclays FC in the 1994 season. Kitale has produced some decent footballers like Patrick Shim and Sammy Sholei. Before that, the ground was home to Kitale FC in the 1980s before Barclays Bank took over the sponsorship of the club, but the partnership did not last. Alaskan FC played their home matches at Malindi Municipal Stadium. Alaskan played in the top flight from the 1960s. They are credited with bringing some great talent from the coast into the limelight. The top talent to recently play for Alaskan was John "Baresi" Odhiambo, who moved to Gor Mahia after shining for Harambee Stars in 1997 against Nigeria. Malindi Municipal Stadium currently could be worse than it was back then, but it hosted big guns of Kenyan football. Mombasa Municipal Stadium has also been unfit for matches for long, leaving KPA's Mbaraki Stadium as the only stadium to host top flight matches at the coast. Limuru Stadium was home ground for Bata Bullets FC until the Limuru-based club wound up in the mid-1990s. The Bata Shoe Company sponsored side punched with the big boys and Limuru Stadium being near to Nairobi always gave fans a chance to travel out of town for a national league match. The stadium may not be as good as it was back then, but the turf has some stories to tell due to the pain it experienced when the bulls of Kenyan football played Bata Bullets FC. Old Trafford - Naivasha or Karuturi Stadium as it was known, is another venue that no longer hosts KPL matches. The well-groomed grass pitch on the shores of Lake Naivasha was a joy for football players. This was until Sher Karuturi flower firm left the country and the club wound up and the lake also swelled and submerged a good part of the stadium. A few kilometers from Karuturi is Oserian Stadium. This was the home of former league winners Oserian FC. They returned in the KPL recently, but was later disbanded and no top flight match has been played in the stadium since. It is owned by Oserian flower farm who felt that bankrolling a football club was not sustainable. Ilala Stadium Webuye was home of Panpaper FC. Panpaper was in and out of the topflight league several times until they were finally relegated in 2005. The stadium was owned by Pan African Paper Mills that operated from Webuye, but later shut down. Lastly, Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret. It prides in being the only top stadium named after a former sportsman, middle distance track hero Kipchoge Keino. It was home to Rivatex FC, Eldoret KCC and Raymond FC who featured in the league in the 1980s and 1990s. This was until the economic meltdown of the 1990s led to closure of industries in Eldoret and the clubs folded up. Today, the stadium which, is expected to host 2027 Afcon matches, has been under renovation for about a decade. Siaya County recently unveiled their stadium in fun-filled match between Gor Mahia and Kitara FC of Uganda. We hope a club from Siaya will now take advantage of the good facilities to fight their way into the national league.

Fans starved of stadiums that used to host KPL ties

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard.

Related Topics

Popular this week

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

DIGGER JOBS

Digger Motors

Digger Real Estate

Fans starved of stadiums that used to host KPL ties

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Stand With Bold Journalism. Stand With The Standard.

Related Topics

Popular this week

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard.