BY DAVID ONJILI
With five games to spare, Gor Mahia FC continued to cement her place as the undisputed kings of Kenyan football by clinching her fourth title in five years. Defending champions Tusker were a pale shadow of themselves finishing a distant six while former giants like AFC Leopards and Mathare United were fighting against relegation.
The gulf in class between Gor Mahia and the rest of the league is self-evident week in week out and this should be a wakeup call to all football stakeholders on the dwindling standards of the game. This has been replicated at the national team, Harambee Stars, who have continued to post mediocre performances on continental arena. Despite all this, the league this season started with court cases as the federation insisted on a sixteen-team league. The withdrawal of league sponsors SuperSport was a dark moment and the financial repercussions were huge not to mention the lack of broadcast of games.
Bamba Sports later came in and started live broadcast of the games and filled the void left by Supersport. The six month deal was worth Sh110.7 million; Sh36.7 million to Kenya Premier League (KPL), Sh40 million for production of content and the remaining Sh24 million for advertising the league in various platforms.
The winners
Cash strapped side; Sofapaka got a lifeline when betting firm Betika signed a sponsor partnership. Their fortunes on the pitch spoke volumes as the 2009 KPL champions finished runners up in the 2017 contest with 55 points although they were a massive nineteen points off eventual winners Gor Mahia – a complete turnaround in fortunes considering that they were relegation candidates in the previous season, finishing 16th then.
The newly promoted sides of Kariobangi Sharks, Nakumatt FC, Nzoia FC and Zoo Fc of Kericho all posted impressive results with none of the new boys getting relegated. The most impressive of them all was Kariobangi Sharks who ended up finishing 3rd in the league with 52 points and ahead of seasoned sides like Ulinzi FC and Tusker FC. To add icing on the cake, they are coached by William Muluya, who the youngest coache in the country.
The losers
One of the most surprising things about the 2017 SPL was the deteriorating standards of football especially amongst former giants. Mathare United coached by Francis Kimanzi, one of Kenya’s most experienced local coaches were saved from relegation in the last few games which they were able to win and ended up finishing 13th with a paltry 39 points from 34 games.
AFC Leopards were not spared this circus either. Their off field issues and political wrangling saw them fire Stuart Hall and replace him with Dorian Marin and later fired him and appointed Tom Juma on an interim basis but the results never changed much and it took the intervention of Robert ‘The Lion’ Matano to calm the storms at the club. The iron fisted coach restored player discipline and they managed to finish 8th with 45 points and not to mention winning the 2017 GoTv Shield that will enable them represent Kenya in continental football in 2018.
The failure by Tusker FC to defend their title and finish 6th in the league is embarrassing. They boast of one of the most experienced squads in the country and their corporate sponsorship should ensure they are a steady ship. The side must seek to integrate their ageing squad with youngsters and limit the many boardroom wars to ensure they post better results.
Muhoroni FC, Western Stima and Thika United are the teams relegated from the league with 3 expected to be promoted in their place.
Stand out players
With 17 goals in 34 games, Kariobangi Sharks’ striker Masoud Juma emerged the league’s top scorer. No mean feat for a player whose inclusion in the national team has been highly criticized by local soccer fans. Meddie Kagere and Jacques Tuyisenge of Gor Mahia came in second and third with 13 and 14 goals respectively. The low number of goals scored by our strikers has been reflected in the national team and even FKF President Mr Nick Mwendwa highlighted this plight and said that the federation is worried and looking into avenues of solving it.
2016 Most Valuable Player, Kenneth Muguna continued with his great form. With match winning goals and breathtaking displays, he was amongst the star studded Gor Mahia cast that ensured they won the title. Special mention this season goes to Mike Madoya, George Blackberry Odhiambo, Francis Kahata, Whyvonne Issuza and Patrick Matasi who represented their clubs with distinction and top performances.
While Gor Mahia must be congratulated for winning the title with majesty, we cannot escape the fact that Kenyan football is on a downward trajectory. Fact that the top scorer can only manage 17 goals in 34 games is sad; the technical aspect of most teams is below standards. The tempo of the game, reaction time of players when they receive the ball and execute their ideas is extremely slow when compared to games in the Zambian or South African leagues.
Special respect goes to Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards who will represent Kenya at the continental soccer stage. In previous years, failure to prepare by teams has led to dismal performances and so fans are hopeful that the respective teams will change the narrative this time round and do the country proud. It has been a long while since Kenyan football made an impact on the continent. Hopefully this time will be different.
