What Italian football can teach Kenya

Whenever Harambee Stars plays like they are currently doing in CECAFA Senior Challenge in Uganda, Kenyan football fans are treated to a rollercoaster ride. At one time we are struggling against Uganda, Southern Sudan gives us a scare but we manage to beat them on experience and such stories.

I believe Kenya needs an idiosyncratic (that is just another word for peculiar- but do I say) style of playing football, and we can learn from the Italians. The Azzuri, Italian national team is known to play a style of football called ‘Catenaccio’ (door-bolt.) This style is not popular with the rest of the world but it has worked for Italy. They won the 2006 World Cup in Germany and again lost the Euro 2012 final match to a Spanish side playing smooth playing football.

This defensive style of play may not be as pleasing to the eye as Spanish – tiki taka but it has worked for Italy. Even their creative midfielders like Cassano and Pirlo are not known to play the Iniesta- Xavi like style of midfield play. Italians lock it down even as they go forward.

Tribalism and his sister corruption are strains of a defensive mindset

Kenyans to my observation are a defensive people and it is evident in our football. Tribalism and his sister corruption are strains of a defensive mindset. When we feel ‘safe’ with one of our own in power to check the other tribes out to ‘finish’ us is as defensive as any Italian football club.

Leadership gurus a while back trained us to work on our weaknesses to succeed. Today the buzz word is lead from your strengths. If Kenya is to make an impact in African football we need to play from our point of strength- go defensive.

Looking at Tusker FC in the just ended Tusker Premier League one gets to understand what I mean. Tusker clinched the league with 39 goals, six less than AFC Leopards’ at position three. Gor Mahia scored 37 at position two, Thika United 36 at position five, and Mathare United 36 at position 8.

This is a low average of 1.3 goals per match for Tusker. They played a defensive minded football and at the end Coach Robert Matano who was in charge for the last six matches was happy not to have conceded a goal in his first two matches.

Since the league was revamped in 2009, the league has been won by a club that did not score the most goals. Since then it is only AFC and Sofapaka who have scored over forty goals in a season.  Looking at our players as well, especially in the midfield- we have always lacked attack minded play makers. The top scorer John Baraza is in the twilight of his career and Dan Serunkuma who gave him a run for his money is Ugandan.

We have never lacked good defenders and defensive minded midfielders. Siblings Victor Mugubi and McDonald Mariga are our latest big exports and they are both defensive midfielders. The few attacking midfielders in TPL are Gor’s Rama Salim and Kevin Omondi, Sofapaka’s Humphrey Mieno and Mungai Kiongera of KCB. Even with such players, our mode of play hardly utilizes their strengths, with Zdvarko Logarusic at Gor being an exception this season.

Yes, Italians are known to bolt the door and frustrate the opponent. With our burly defenders and not so speedy attackers, this is an approach we can adopt in the national team. Let’s not try what we don’t have the capacity to maintain or hunt what we cannot kill. If we defend well, then wait for our strikers to score that one goal that makes the difference. In Italy, the 1-0 score line is as common as pizza in Rome and Milan.

We can play from our strength as we strive to build the other departments we fall short in. Simple football, like Brazilian coach Luis Fellipe Scholari said, is the hardest football to play.

Catch me on twitter @stuttistician and Facebook; www.facebook.com/SokaBuzzz

  

If Only AFC and Gor fans got the BIG picture

This blogpost, I will confess has been difficult to write. I had to turn it over in my head and even sent it down to my heart a few times. In the end, like I have done many times before, I sat up to write it. I know some  Gor Mahia fans who know me and have read the title have already scrolled to other things, some who have clicked on it are browsing to see a statement they can throw back at me. That is unavoidable in this game, I will take all in stride.

I am not a Gor Mahia fan, but my club loyalty has never shrouded my judgment of Kenyan football entities. One thing I try not to do is to write about my preferred club, when I have to write I make sure I am as objective as possible. So, I always take the bricks thrown at me by fans with a pinch of salt.

I will go tribal (most Kenyans are) and please do not take this as my excuse for tribalism but my explanation of the same. I am a believer in the spirit of Kenya and a firm believer in the Kenyan dream. I believe a section of Gor fans who cause trouble after matches should look seriously into their actions, the sooner the better. As I did after the ill fated match Gor Mahia fans display Luos siege mentality after AFC Leopards' match , the recent Gor vs. Thika United match has awaken the writer in me.



I mentioned about the Luo community’s siege mentality that is born of past historical injustices. Again, everyone must take responsibility for his actions; I was just explaining why hooliganism is more than a football problem. Like Martin Luther King Jr. said, nobody can ride your back unless it is bent.

Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards’ fans are known for causing chaos whenever a match does not go their way. AFC Leopards’ may claim that Gor fans are worse but their recent actions in Nakuru point to a kettle calling the pot dark. The big question is who loses when fans take out their disappointments on innocent members of the public?

First things first, It is unfortunate that I have to profile the ethnic (or regional) identities of TPL players, but if it is good for the local game- why not? I failed to get the 2012 full clubs team lists, so I took my time to look at match team sheets which has eighteen players. Most if not all clubs constitute over 50% of players from Western Kenya (old Nyanza and Western provinces.) Do not report me to Mzalendo Kibunja just yet.

The good book in Mathews chapter 25 gives us the famous Parable of Talents. God, like the master who went on a journey gives talents according to the ability of the recipient. The third servant told his master he was a hard man who reaped where he did not sow as a reason for not doing much with his gift. The little he had was taken away and given to the first two who had brought returns of their investments. To who much is given, much is also expected and so the Luo and Luhya communities should take the gift of football very seriously.

When Tusker FC played Chemelil Sugar on 11^th May 2012, all but three of their eighteen member team were from Western Kenya, Chemelil had eleven players from the same region. When Tusker recently beat City Stars 3-0 to win the TPL title, four players (including Obadiah Ndege) were not from the said region, City Stars had a similar number. What am I driving at?

I have not looked at AFC Leopards’ and Gor Mahia; of the two Gor will get a thumps up for recruiting players from all over Kenya while AFC tends to give consideration to players from Luhya community first. There is nothing wrong with either as long as football is played professionally. But when fans cause chaos, it is players who will suffer most, yet majority of them hail from the communities that support the two most popular clubs.

It is obvious that the two clubs cannot absorb all the talent from the bedrock of their fan base. So when Rangers FC winds up, it is not a Yobesh Ongeri problem but a Kenyan football problem. Several players will miss an avenue to express and develop their talent, and most of them will hail from the two communities. It is not just about Gor and AFC Leopards'.

In short, Gor fans, a majority of who are Luos should know that when they cause chaos they are hurting the local game, and by extension their brothers who play pay for it. The same with AFC Leopards’, fans of both clubs should endevour to make the local game appealing so as to attract the ‘neutrals’ who prefer to follow foreign leagues. The goal is to deny them the excuse that the local game is at the mercy of hooligans.

I write this with the knowledge that both clubs are capable of filling any stadium in Kenya to capacity if they mean business. Their matches are well attended, and they have a right to brag about it. What they may not know is that this is still a fraction of their fans; why are many of their fans afraid to come to the stadium?

In my earlier blog (I have attached the link above) I tried to explain why Gor fans tend to behave the way they behave. It is upon them to rise above prevailing circumstances and make the best of the situation. God gives talent, but it is the responsibility of the recipient to get the best out of this gift.
The local game has come from far but we still have a long way to go. I write this to ask fans, and especially Gor and AFC Leopards’ fans that for selfish reasons let them restrain themselves whenever they are disappointed in any way.

When Tusker wins, and Thika United also plays well, if you look well- it is good for the two communities who form the bulk of local football lovers. It is wise and prudent to lose battles gracefully if it will give you the impetus to win the war. I hope they get the bigger picture; it is the only way to avoid sweating the small stuff. This will also prevent other people from taking advantage of their weaknesses  for selfish reasons.

Lastly, a toast to Bob Munro and Thika United founders. The two clubs have been instrumental in raising players from other communities apart from Western and Coast regions where for a long time most of Kenyan football players hailed from. Long Live TPL, FKF and the local beautiful game.
You can now send this to National Cohesion and Integration Commission. We can build the whole (country) by building the parts.

African Champions’ League; build the parts to improve the whole

It may not be known to many Africans that Esperance of Tunisia is facing TP Mazembe of DR Congo while Egyptian Champions Al Ahly will face Sunshine Stars of Nigeria in the African Champions’ League semi finals this October.

 As usual all eyes and hearts are on the UEFA Champions league group stage. Esperence won the title last year after a seventeen year wait but they have been runners-up thrice before. TP Mazembe of DRC beat them on 6-1 aggregate in 2010 finals. Last year they beat Morocco’s Waydad Casablanca to the crown by a 1-0 aggregate.

There are many things we can take note of in this Premier CAF championships. Since 1991 only two clubs out of North and West Africa in TP Mazembe and South Africa’s Orlando Pirates have won the title. West African clubs have cut the dominance of the North Africans since 1998. Ivory Coast’s Asec Abijan, Hearts of Oak of Ghana and Enyimba of Nigeria clinching the trophy.

This says a lot about our continental championship as compared to the UEFA, or South American Copa Libertadore. Africa lags behind, even after clinching the sponsorship from mobile telephone giant Orange, little has changed. Even in the second tier Confederations Cup, Last year Club Africain of Tunisia lost to Maghreb de Fes of Morroco in the finals.

The two continental championships are a mirror of how things are bad in East, Central and Southern Africa in regards to football. This year, Eastern Africa region had three representertives in the Confederation Cup group stages; all from Sudan. Al Hilal Omdurman, El Mereikh and  Al Ahly Shendi.

First things first

First, our best players grace the foreign leagues in droves. It is every players dream to play in the UEFA champions’ league- UCL. McDonald Mariga and Samuel Eto’o are in a select contingent of African players to ever lift the UCL trophy. With Seydou Keita of Mali said to have pocketed an equivalent of Ksh. 90 million for winning the Champions League with FC Barcelona in 2010.

Our football will not grow by exporting our best talent, and no money is paid to their home federations every year from the clubs or leagues in Europe. African football will only grow at the rate which we are able to retain our best players in our local leagues. The excuse we always lack of finances to put our football at par with the rest in the world. We also acknowledge lack of depth in our organization and marketing strategies.

African football will only grow at the rate which we are able to retain our best players in our local leagues

  

EUEFA History

UEFA Champions League was not an idea of football fathers in Europe. In December 1954 French sports daily L'Equipe through their then-editor Gabriel Hanot rooted for a European-wide club competition. It is Hanot, together with colleague Jacques Ferran who came up with a blueprint for a challenge tournament to be played on Wednesdays under floodlights. The proposal was adopted by UEFA and it kicked off in 1955.

This makes it possible for a fan to fly out from London to Milan Italy to watch a Champions League match. The flight takes three hours but one hour is swallowed by time difference, so one can get a late kick off in Milan and fly back home to be at work on Thursday morning.

It initially started as a competition for clubs with massive fan base than clubs which won the league. This is something CAF officials in Cairo can look at. CAF as is the African norm copied the format for national league champions from UEFA yet they started from the most popular clubs. It is never too late to take AFC Leopards or Gor Mahia from Kenya in place of Sofapaka if that is what will make our Champions League popular in Africa.

The current UEFA format of group stages came up as a revolution in the 1992/93 season. As it is with us, CAF copy pasted the format in 1997 when it may not have been ripe for Africa. CAF could be going down a road without the backing of the African passionate fans. The most logical thing to do is to stop and re-strategize.

In South America teams qualify to the Copa Libertadores by winning half-year tournaments called the Apertura (opening) and Clausura (clossing) tournaments. This is where the national league is divided into two parts and the winners go for a playoff. Only Brazil brings teams that have finished top in their championship. The championship is growing in leaps and bounds, as more teams out of the national top flights have a chance for continental appearance.

It is good to note that TP Mazembe beat two South American  clubs, Pachuca of Mexico and Internacionale of Brazil on their way to the final with Inter Millan in 2010 FIFA Club World Cup.  This is evidence that Africa can stand up to the world in football. In 2011 Esperence bowed out after losing the first two matches.

It is never too late to take AFC Leopards or Gor Mahia from Kenya in place of Sofapaka if that is what will make our Champions League popular in Africa.

Africa is a special continent in terms of people’s diversity and economic standard disparities. We should come up with a football formula that suits us well. The media can be engaged more to report on major African leagues with the same zeal that I get to watch and read about European Leagues. Someone in Yaunde Cameroun can get to hear of FC Sofapaka before the Champions League starts.

It is time CAF looked at the reason why North and West Africans have dominated the show. Yet it is obvious that the likes of PSL of South Africa among others are good leagues as well. There could be a disconnect between what is on the ground and what CAF knows or tries to do from Cairo.

We can go the Brazilian way as a continent, where clubs play in the state leagues between January and April then go into the national championships till the end of the year. CAF can strengthen the four regional Confederations; Eastern Africa’s CECAFA, Southern Africa COSAFA, West African WAFU, Central Africa UNIFAC and North Africa’s UNAFF. CECAFA and UNIFAC both claim to serve Central Africa, something that can be sorted. The regional champions and runners up can then go into the knock out stage.

This is some sort of affirmative action to allow every region a chance of being in the group stage. It will in turn build a fan base and support from across the continent. Sponsors will be more attracted to come on board if the whole of Africa will be watching.

This will build up momentum for the continental show piece. We build the parts to assemble a worthwhile whole. It is easier for a fan to travel to Kigali from Nairobi by road or air to cheer his team. I can easily take a bus ride to Dar-es-salam or Lusaka to watch my team play than fly to North Africa.

Transport

One important hindrance to the growth of African Continental Club championship is our poor transport system. It is expensive for a fan to travel from East Africa to West Africa without connecting to Dubai or Europe. European fans can fly in and out of a country to watch a match with much ease.  Tunisia is more connected to Spain than Kenya. CAF can engage Airlines, Africa Union and Regional Economic Blocks to develop sound transport systems.

This initiative is not only bound to develop football but tourism and trade as well. When Africa interacts with itself, we can get to share ideas without waiting for a prompt from Europe. I will be glad to watch TP Mazembe play Kenyan Champions in Nairobi and maybe I can get a good excuse to savour the beauty of Lubumbashi.

UEFA and Copa Libertadores are way ahead, but we can create our own path. An appearance in UEFA even if you exit at the play offs is guarantee of income to a club. We can create a simple system where clubs get to the money bracket from the word go in regional championships. 

African Champions League can produce stars; we don’t have to wait for our players to go to Europe for the rest of Africa to know them.

Maina Kageni- Who Cares?

On Thursday 20th September on Classic FM's Maina and King'ang'i in the morning;

KINGANGI: Maina hii weekend ni kali sana Gor na AFC wanakutana kiwanjani!
MAINA: who cares....!!?

This is my tweet on 7th September 2012

kenyatta otieno ‏@stuttistician

Thanks @mwalimukingangi 4 TPL big up @mainakageni attending is not abt how U feel abt AFC/Tusker but endorsing our own ask@Carolinemutoko

Maina Kageni, with all due respect, I will write to you this open letter. I know you host one of the most listened to Breakfast Shows this side of the Sahara. Together with a man I have respect for, you hold the country captive for three good hours. To be candid, I dont own a radio so I rarely listen to your show. The few times I have caught you in a car or a matatu, minus the content, I have appreciated your chemistry and your presentation, you know your job.

I am writing this in regard to the above quotes on social media. I know you are a Manchester United fan, but who cares? My problem with you is not in your lack of appreciation of local football but in pouring cold water on King'ang'i as he tries to big up the local version of the beautiful game.

You may have grown up on the Western end of town, Who Cares? That does not mean that the Eastlands side was uninhabited. If we did not have Eastlands, how would King'ang'i have mastered his humour? He happens to be the best local talent you can work with.

I agree our football still has  a long way to go, but it is good to appreciate how far we have come. Four years ago, I started going to watch KPL matches due to the influence of two people; My good friend Eugene and your colleague Carilline Mutoko.

The terraces were empty, but a handful of us would seat through the matches undeterred. There was no entrance fee, how could you even think of charging. Someone could afford to buy everyone at the VIP stand ground nuts; but Who Cares?

Fast- Forward and you hear of clubs raising up to KSH. 5,000,000 in gate collection- TUMETOKA MBALI. Players can at least earn a decent living from playing football and corporates are back into the game. I know you don't care about all this information, BUT WHO CARES?

Football is good for the young energetic bodies from the low middle class and low class neighbourhoods. By the time they stop playing football, they are mature enough to know that crime and anti-social behaviour does not pay. It is not only you, but many like you who don't care about this fact.

Football has been used a s a social integration tool the world over. The warring factions in Ivory Coast's civil war called for a ceasefire after a football match in the rebel stronghold. Spain- a country divided by Catalonia, Basque and the Royal Spanish sectarian politics has always been held together by football. Kenya, can use this to bridge the gaps in our tribal divide, but WHO CARES?

There is no change in the world that has happened without the involvement of the middle class which you belong to Mr. Maina Kageni. It is the middle class who can transform our football, but WHO CARES. I have respect for Elly Kalekwa, this man has transformed Kenyan football, not by words, but by deeds. He has a lot of money to spend on top of the range cars and a lavish lifestyle, but HE CARED so much for the local football players that he formed SOFAPAKA FC despite being a foreigner.

Maina Kageni, Manchester United is over a century old. You are supporting it because someone cared so much for British football long before your grandfather was born. He is long gone now but you can enjoy the product of his cares. Our Mathare United, AFC Leopards', Gor and Sofapaka can be better than Manchester and Real Madrid combined if people like you cared. We have the advantage of learning from their achievements and mistakes.

I know you will say you are entitled to your opinion, oh yes Mr. Kageni. If so, the Mr. Sang could not be facing charges of crimes against humanity at the Hague, he was also airing an opinion. When you have the privilege of speaking behind a microphone to pass a message to the whole country, it is never about your opinion.

As I tweeted the tweet above; it is not always about you and how you feel. Meanwhile, we will love our Tusker Premier League as always, because people like me care less about Manchester United and such outfits.

Then again- WHO CARES, continue supporting that club that does not even know you exist. Keep watering your neighbours lawn and complain at the top of your voice that the grass is never green on your side, because WHO CARES!

Nyamweya; Let CECAFA go to Uganda

This is the second time I am writing an open letter to Sam Nyamweya; Mr. President, one of the joys of the 2002 NARC revolution was the liberalization of the term 'President'- so I am in order to call you FKF President.

                                                                Sam Nyamweya aka Sam

I have been following your exchange with Nicholas Musonye regarding the transfer of CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup 2012 from Kenya to Uganda. I can understand your frustration, I was also disappointed, as a member of the 5th Estate (we operate from the servant quarters of the fourth estate) -this was a chance to promote my blog by streaming East and Central Africa football to the world, now I will wait for the fourth estate to serve me their news.

Mr. Nyamweya, I will give you three reasons why I believe you should walk over to Nick's office- your offices are in the same compound and buy him tea. I know he loves tea, where he comes from, you must love tea before you can love other beverages. Semantics aside...

                                                             Nicholas Musonye aka Nick
                                                                                 
One; we are not guaranteed of winning the tournament on home soil. You  unveiled the natinal team coach last week, with two months to the games, I doubt if he can craft a title winning side by November. I would prefer we spend the next one year, preparing a team with a simple drill- lift CECAFA CUP on home soil. Let CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup go to Nambole for now.

Next year is a chance of a life time to showcase what Kenya has in terms of football talent and everything around our lovely people. Pwani ni Kenya na Kisumu is dala wa- so please look for ways of staging a few matches in the coastal and lakeside cities. I believe one year  is enough for us to showcase a side of Kenya that the CECAFA community has never seen. Let it Go to the hills of the Impala its only a one year wait.

Image is everything. Sam, I know you and Nick are both tough headed men, that is not a problem. That is a character than can do Kenyan football good. You are both Kenyans, so let us not wash our dirty football linen in the African public. The court of public opinion is a harsh court, it will put off sponsors and partners and hurt the beautiful game. For the sake of the good image of Kenyan football, we have come from the dark tunnel, let there be peace. Let the People of Kampala have CECAFA for this year, we can wait.

Last but not least, we can make a deal with Uganda to give us another of their slot soon, even if it is the Kagame Cup. Win-Win is made up of such.

Kwa hayo machache, Sam, let Kampala have it and by that it does not mean Nick has won. We gonna win big next year. We can plan to win the cup next year on home soil, what a better way to end this saga.

Thanking you in advance,
Yours Truly
5th Estate Tenant.

Tokelezea na Jalee- NMG shows the way

Nation Media Group has stepped into the local football arena is style. What a wonderful way to do it; July went into August, so the cold is well taken care of. The leading East African media house has partnered with the two most popular clubs in Kenya; the self proclaimed BIG clubs- Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards to bring us a one in a kind promotion.

The Green Army, as K’ogallo fans are called and Ingwe fans, them of The Claw Trust fame have a chance to step out in style to watch their teams in this cold weather.  The proceeds from the sales will be shared, where the two clubs will get 12% of the amount sold. This is a boost to the kitties of these two clubs.

Thanks to Nation Media Group, other corporate entities can take a cue and partner with our football clubs. This is a win-win for both parties as despite the marketing opportunity for the media group, the club benefits and the fans also take home merchandise. Other corporates should follow suit and take our football to the next level.

I can’t wait for the mashemeji derby to see a sea of green and blue jackets around the stadium. The in-laws can face each other in style and respect, knowing very well that as they keep warm the clubs are walking to bank whistling. Sirkal will dance in green while ingwe fans will do the isokonde dance in a blue strip; the glamour is back in our football.

They say green is the colour of life while blue is the colour of truth and moderation. So this is a chance to people who would like to be identified with these two teams to TOKELEZEA NA JALEE and represent their clubs.


HOW?The Daily Nation in the next three weeks will carry a discount coupon, fans must collect and present seven of these to be able to buy an exclusive jacket at KSH. 3,500. Then send an sms to code 5428 and book a jacket in advance. Hurry while stocks last.

To other clubs, don’t feel left out- NMG is planning to bring jackets for Sofapaka, Ulinzi then other clubs will follow; I can’t wait.

So book your jacket and tokeleze mtaani in style….

TOKELEZEA na JALEE

Sofapaka will be one of the Biggest Clubs in Kenya

Football is more than just a sport; it is an art, a language and to some extent a war in which every match is a battle. The world governing body FIFA tries to maintain sanity in a sport that generates emotions all over the world. Football was invented in England, thanks to colonization it spread all over the world and the English must be wondering what happened to ‘their’ game.

There are many dynamics in football in every country and culture. Kenyan football clubs took a tribal dimension while the Tanzanian clubs went the social class way. Simba is a club for the middle class while Yanga is for the working class. The community clubs in Kenya have had a tribal following; Gor is mainly supported by Luos while AFC Leopards by the Luhyas. The other clubs in KPL are institutional, formed by employees and sponsored by a corporate body.

In 2009, an unknown club called Sofapaka was promoted to the KPL. It had metamorphosed from a men’s ministry pass time at M.A.O.S church into a professional outfit in five years. They spent a year each in the Nationwide two and Nationwide leagues before the promotion. In their first year in the league, the club was fully sponsored by business man Elly Kalekwa and they clinched the title- a world record.

Then the old teams woke up, they were shocked by the new kids on the block. K’ogallo and AFC fans began to cheer Sofapaka’s opponents in the 2010 campaign where they finished fourth. Mathare United came into the league with a bang but took time to win it while ‘watoto wa mungu’ as they are known won it in their maiden appearence.

I have many reasons to believe that we have not seen the best of Sofapaka yet. While arguing a case in court, a lawyer will quote authorities; these are related cases whose judgments give weight to his arguments. I have my authorities as well.

Two English men Herbert Kilpin a lace maker and Alfred Edwards from Nottingham found themselves in Milan, Italy towards the end of nineteenth century. Being foreigners, they must have been bored after work due to limited social ties. They formed AC Milan in 1899, after a row the Italians broke away to form Internazionale of Milan in 1908. The rest as they say is history, the club has won eighteen officially recognized FIFA and UEFA titles. It is now owned by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

In the Catalan province of Spain, a twenty year old business man from Winterthur Switzerland arrived in Barcelona in 1898 and formed FC Barcelona in 1899. Hans ‘Joan’ Gamper had formed FC Zurich just before he left his native country. Barcelona has morphed into one of the biggest clubs in Spain and just like AC Milan, it was founded by a foreigner.

Argentinean club Boca Juniours is known as the club that ushered Diego Maradona into the world of football.  In April 1905, five Italian boys met in one of the boy’s home to form a club. The father to the boy was not happy and he threw the boys out. They went to a nearby house called Plaza Solís to continue with the project and Boca Juniours was founded.

These are just a few examples of football clubs started by foreigners in their adopted countries. I believe it is not only in football, foreigners tend succeed where the natives fail. I believe there are other foreigners who took charge of many clubs and raised their profile even if they were not the founders.

Football elicits great passion, especially among the working class who form the majority of any society. This attracts influence from the political class who are in pursuit of votes. A local administrator will definitely have political leanings. This will work for some time until he falls out of favour with his allies or they are thrown out of power. I talked to Elly Kalekwa a few years ago and he was very categorical that his politics is football. Foreigners will avoid getting directly involved in politics hence concentrate more on their private business.

Kenyan clubs are more inclined to tribal and regional loyalty. AFC Leoprads has signed most players from the Luhya community except Congolese import Jonas Nahimana and Ugandan Jimmy Bagaye. Gor Mahia has tried to move away from this trend and has several players who are not from Luo Nyanza. Sofapaka having a Congolese owner has a few refugees but the bulk of Kenyan contingent is a mixture of many tribes. This is another factor that will endear more people to ‘watoto wa mungu’ in the near future.

The foreign touch has spiced many leagues in the world. The great Pele came out retirement to play for New York Cosmos and American Soccer (not football) grew by leaps. Arsene Wenger brought the French finesse into the English Premier League. The Dutch invasion of Barcelona led by Rinus Michels and later Johan Cryuf transformed football in Spain. The Congolese invasion of KPL may just trigger a transformation in our football.

The entire France contingent that won the World Cup in 1998 were descendants of immigrants. Already we have Bob Mugalia in the national team, who knows who will be next. If we embrace more foreigners we are bound to see growth in the quality of our football.

History repeats itself, so it is prudent to learn from it so as to repeat the good and shun the wrong aspects of it. The current supporters of the clubs I have mentioned above may not know the foreign hands that shaped them. Like mercenaries, these men made the best of their love for the beautiful game in a simple way and many people are benefiting today. Sofapaka may be a Kenyan club owned by a Congolese businessman today, but I see a trailblazer in many fronts. Time will tell.