Kamanda to the rescue!

Yesterday, sports Minister Maina Kamanda made my day!

He created a body of corporate-types to manage the Harambee Stars, including the cash. Basically, this was because KFF has failed us and so they should move over and watch the 'Proper Management of Harambee stars' show.

This is great news, because I believe the people appointed to the management body are high-achievers and people of integrity who will deliver. The body is headed by Nation Media Group's Kiboro and includes other corporate hot shots like Ester Pasaris...read about it here
Kamanda also issued an ultimatum to KFF and KPL, threatening to dissovle KFF. Cool!

Today, there's going to be a happy ending to this story, unlike this one.

Question: Is a blog part of the media?
Regardless of the answer, I'm all for the media blackout (see the 'happy ending' link).

The Silver Lining

Every cloud has a silver lining, so 'they' say.

Does this apply to the dark nimbus cloud that is Kenya soccer/Kenya football? And while we're asking questions, who are 'they', anyway?

Yes. Even though Sambu and Co. are seemingly doing their utmost to ruin our game, we still love it and we still play it. We even sometimes play so well that we write home about it. Cool, isn't it?

The Kenya Under 20 team did just that, admist all the hulla balloo that arose from Dan Omino and his cronies' highly questionable management of the game in recent times. The Kenyan lads beat Sudan 1-0 to reach the semi-finals of the East and Central Africa Youth Championships in Burundi. They might go on to lift the trophy. Thay beat all odds! Including those thrown at them by KFF! (They had to travel to the tournament by bus-a 36 hour road trip!, etc.)

Or take the example of the Safaricom Super 8 tournament, whose organisers have clearly read 'How to Popularize Sport'. This tournament has been a massive success, pulling in crowds that we all though impossible at our stadiums, except for national-team games.

Bottom line: KFF you can't ruin our football completely. No matter how hard you try. You'll go thew same way you came. Sooner or later.

Erase and Rewind

So the new KPL( i.e. the not backed by KFF/KFF-PL) premier league started this weekend.
If youhave'nt heard the news, we're back to square 0. There gonna be two rival leauges in Kenya.
There's a KPL league and a KFF-PL leage.

Tusker won 3-0.

Sikuenda kuona match. I'm disillusioned. Where did it all go wrong? Does Omino care? Sambu? Munro? Does anyone care?

We just want to love our football and be proud of it. Don't make it political.

Erase and Rewind.

Can Kamanda help?

Its Busines as Usual

This week, the KFF issued the matches' schedule for the next season of the top league in Kenya. While at this, they also proposed the formation of a company to manage top flight football in Kenya. Nice, eh?

In the meantime, the KPL(a company formed a few years back to, you gussed it, manage the top flight football in Kenya) met and discussed matters soccer, also. They reduced the number of teams to 16 and, I think, also issued their own version of the match schedule.

Not to be outdone, Lama went on a one-man strike demanding a formal contract for himself and his technical bench. Akina Twahir came out backing him saying his move was wise since KFF still owes them money. They also asked to be paid since Lama should not get preferential treatment just for being a foreigner.

Seemingly in a world of their own, KFF strongmen Dan Omino and A. Sambu brushed it all aside as if it wasn't really important. It was all yada yada, "Lama will be back, don't worry" yada "We have a sponsor in waiting, just have to finalise things" yada.

As some teams declared they will not participate in the upcoming President's cup.

Its all too familiar; they always f*** us up-whoever really manages Kenyan soccer-KFF, KPL.......whoever, should just be..........[I almost said SHOT]

I should have.

Lama, Our Coach

Friends, get a load of this:

It has now emerged that Lama is yet to get a professional contract and still stays at the Kshs. 10,000 per night SafariPark Hotel. The KFF has not formalized contracts with his assistants Ghost Mulee and Arnold Origi. Under these circumstances, it is clear that Lama was doing a lot of charity work.

Surprisingly, while Lama was being pelted with bottles and stones, KFF officials were nowhere to be seen, as they had sneaked out of the stadium through the VIP exits. That being the case, it is more than obvious that the head coach should be fully in-charge of the national team, and be provided unlimited access to facilities. He should also get direct assistance from the Ministry of Sports, currently under the able direction of Hon. Maina Kamanda.
Go here for the full story.

A few comments on the above post:
Yes we lost, yes there are many reasons for the loss.
many coaches the world over operate under strident conditions, even teams participating in the world cup, especially from Africa often go through a lot.
the suggestions by KF that we grant Lama a blank cheque cannot go unchallenged. Before taking the job, Lama knew what, where etc of our football. They failed to deliver period. His neck is on the chopping board because we expected something better - three losses in a row is too much to take especially for teams ranked below us.
If Lama cannot work within the demanding constraints of Kenya, he better does the needful. As a soccer fan, i'm not comfortable with a francophone coach- oter games are different, soccer is unique. Most leaned people have diffulties in understanding him during interviews, what about our mostly average players? Kenyans have a way of doing things, like most anglo-phones, a francophone coach inexperieced at the international level will face serious challenges. Ndenga Nyakwar Taya

he needs our support as kenyans who are proud of our country,but if we decide to become pessimists we will not add any value to ourselves,if we continue throwing abuses at our players instead of giving support ot them then we are breaking them and not making them it doesnt make a team by being happy that it was oilech who lost the penalty,that being a traitor. Dj Lovett

My take:
Although 3 losses in a row is hard to take for a proud Kenyan like myself, I still beleive Lama should be given some more time. Especially if he is being frustrated by the usual suspects, akina KFF.

Its sad, indeed, to read of the kind of mess that KFF puts us in. We try so hard to love our football but in the end it doesn't even matter! Why do the people who are supposed to lead us, to channel our love btray us so? Why, oh why?

Yote yawezekana bila KFF!

However, this doesn't give LAMA the opportunity to mess us up. If you can't handle the job, now that you know what being the head coach of Kenya really means, then you must leave. NOW!! But if you genuinely want to give it a real hard honest effort then I'm with you.

ERITREA?

Eritrea 2 Kenya 1
That says it all. Maybe you still dont get it: ERITREA 2 Kenya 1.
Kenya is only the 3rd country ever to lose to Eritrea.

What can I say, it was shameful and downright disturbing. I mean, a new coach , new kit, new sponsor, new players........things were looking good. Only for Eritrea in cohoots with Origi and Oliech to shatter our dreams.

Which international goalie ever missed as Origi did? For those of you who didn't see the match, the first goal came very strangely indeed. A routine back pass resulted in an embarrasing disaster. Suffice it to say that Origi, who is normally very dependable, alijaribu kurusha mguu mbinguni and the ball went under and into the open goal. 1-0, 14 minutes into the game. Mambo equalised mid SECOND HALF with a superb header only for Eritrea to equalise barely two minutes later courtesy of a Musa Otieno blunder (missed header). A few minutes later, Oliech misses a penalty, shooting it wide of the goal.

I tell you, I've seen kenya play worse but I can't really remember when. I guess I had come to Kasarani, together with 17999 other Kenyans, full of hope and expecting nothing less than a 5-0 thrashing of our Northern brethren. Talk of hopes being ruthlessly dashed and the most rude awakening to face the cruel reality that kenyan football is in trouble!

The fans were great. We never gave up hope.......till Oliech missed that penalty. We always knew we could win the match, only when Oliech brought us back down to Earth did the 'Lama must go' and 'yote yawezekana bila Lama' chants start. We were previously doing, 'We love you Lama'.

If you think about it rationally, Kenya didn't play very badly. It wasn't good stuff but it was palatable, for now. We controlled the match from start to finish but just couldn't score. It was like modern day Arsenal who do all the hard running but still can't score. In fact, we were a bit worse coz we didn't have that many shots on goal!

But I'm still hopeful. Its just the first game. We could always improve. Plus:Swaziland wanakaa hawajui anything about footah, going by their 2-0 loss to Angola. They...er....didn't play very well. Anyhoo, the onus is now on Lama. Show us what you're worth, man!

In other news, Kenya's longest soap ended last weekend. Sony Sugar won the Kenya Premier League with a 1-1 draw with Shabana.