African Debate: Should Kenya Forget About Football And Instead Concentrate On Athletics?

There are a few things that one can predict about Kenya with absolute certainty.

When the 2010 Commonwealth Games get in progress in New Delhi, India from earlier next month, the 3000m steeplechase men and women gold medals will be picked up by Kenyans.  Kenya will also be in the mix to snatch medals in the 800m, 1500, 500m, 10,000, and marathon for both men and women.

Depending on how Ethiopia will turn out during the games, Kenya is sure of clinching at least five gold medals and a number of silver and bronze medals.

Kenyan athletes have carved an impenetrable niche in the mid and long distance races over the years, such that at times besides neighbours Ethiopia, the rest of the world only participates in these races leaving the competition to the two Horn of Africa nations.

Most telling, Kenyan youngster David Rudisha broke the 800m title twice in a span of one week last month. Don’t forget that the previous record had been held intact for 13 years by another Kenyan born Canadian citizen, Wilson Kipketer.

In fact chances are every minute a baby is born in the expansive Rift Valley province, that kid will more likely be an athlete than say, a policeman, nurse or even a teacher. Rift Valley is the fount that has been generating the many world beaters who have patented mid and long races for a long time now.

The lists of records Kenyans have set and shattered on the athletics stage are many. But their Waterloo now seems to be in the football field.

Kenya can hardly be termed us a football giant even in the East African region, which of course lags behind the rest of Africa in football attainment.

Kenya can only pride itself of having won the Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (CECAFA) Senior Challenge Cup five times. But the last time that regional trophy headed to Nairobi was in 2002 when they beat the host Tanzania 3-2.

The only time Kenya has tasted continental success in when one of the oldest Premier League clubs, Gor Mahia a.k.a ‘K’Ogalo, won the CAF’s Africa Cup Winners’ Cup in 1987 when they beat Esperance of Tunisia in the finals.

In the same year, the national team Harambee Stars lost narrowly the All Africa Games football gold medal match when they lost 1-0 to Egypt. The games were held in Nairobi, Kenya.

Since then Kenyans have braved a dry spell from the national team despite the overwhelming support by the fans who are always ready to offer their part of the bargain - cheering and praying for the lads in each and every match they are involved in.

Forgetting the leadership crisis that has dogged the team over the years and the government mishmash support for the team, Kenya has really never had talent.

Perhaps in the 70s, 80s and 90s, the country had great footballers who have attained legendary status locally.   

People Joe Kadenge, Chege Ouma, Allan Thigo, Peter Dawo, Joe Masiga, Josephat Murila, Austin Oduor, Mohammed Abbas, Bobby Ogola, Henry Motego, Hussein Kheri, George Fundi Onyango, Ambrose Ayoyi and many others will forever be etched in Kenyan football folklore for their exploits in the 70s to the earlier 90s when rain started beating the Harambee Stars.

Unfortunately this legendary stars never won anything for Kenya! In a deeper reflection, their exploits were only known in what they did for either their clubs, AFC Leopards or Gor Mahia, the two oldest and passionately supported community clubs.

The two clubs exchanged the league and other local titles from the 60s to earlier 90s and it’s the rivalry between the two that raised the profile of most players, hence their popularity.

While the two clubs excelled even in regional tournament like CECAFA and CAF competitions, the national team hasn’t made any imprint.

Fine, the team did qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations five times in the past but their performance was dismal at that stage. The Stars have been eliminated in the first round in the five instances they have graced the continental premier tournament.

The last time they appeared was in 2004 in Tunisia when they escaped with three points from three matches.

Since then their qualification can be described as a misadventure. Always working very hard, showing purpose and hunger but there in they lack talent and the attendant stamina to withstand the steaming qualification heat.

They occasionally win a match here, draw another before losing others and then bow out of the race.

A case in point was during the 2010 AFCON and World Cup qualifiers. The team started so well but failed to produce the finishing kick that their athletics counterparts are known for and hence finished last in their group.

Fans forgot and forgave but there was renewed hope this year when a number of Kenyan players managed to secure transfers to prime clubs in Europe and elsewhere. There was ecstasy in January when MacDonald Mariga finally moved to Inter Milan after Manchester City’s bid flopped due to work permit hiccups.

Denis ‘The Menace’ Oliech also caused some excitement when his club AJ Auxerre qualified for the European Champions League. At least people were happy that two Kenyans would now feature in the lucrative and most highly revered championship in the world.

The team also received good news when Kenyan born English footballer Curtis Osano who plays for Reading but his currently on loan at Rushden & Diamonds decided to play for Kenya. The defender could have played for England where he had been involved in the youth set up, but decided to play for the land of his father.

Others based in the US like Taiwo Atieno and Lawrence Olum also decided to turn out for their mother country.

So there was high expectation among Kenyans, more so when the draws for the 2012 AFCON fixture were announced. Kenya was grouped with Angola, Uganda and Guinea Bissau.

If there was a time that Harambee Stars would launch itself on the continental stage, then this would have been the moment. Angola is a good team and Uganda has also been problematic over the years. But the Stars had a real great chance of rolling over this two besides mauling Guinea Bissau.

But this was just up there in our fertile imagination. After the usual shambolic preparations, the team left for Bissau a day before the match full of bravado. But come Saturday evening, news filtered that they had been humbled 1-0 by a team lowly ranked in the FIFA World rankings, which has not participated in any competitive match in the last three years!

Even heaven may have been galled by Harambee Stars' dismal performance and to show its disapproval, the team was stuck in Bissau for the last four days after the clouds opened up.

They arrived in Nairobi on Wednesday morning full of excuses as usual. Any surprises on the team's current performance? Not really for those who have observed the team over the years.

There has never been any real football talent in Kenya. The country is only replete with football loving fans perpetually orphaned by a limp national team that forever fails to rise to the occasion.

The earlier Kenyans reconcile to this fact and start supporting athletics, volleyball and rugby teams, the better for our collective health.

Otherwise it seems to me that supporting Harambee Stars is tantamount to willingly exposing your life to health related problems like heart attacks, mental disorders and all those maladies associated with stress.

Or what do you think?

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