Kenya v/s Malawi - 2014 World Cup Qualifier starts in Earnest

The qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup to be held in Brazil start in earnest in a week's time and for Kenya this journey begins with the small step of facing Malawi at home. For a start, the fixture is quite significant given that the Kenya Premier League cleared its first leg of matches for the 2011/12 season a week ago. This ensures that the players have had fairly reasonable time to train as a unit.

Kenyan Football fan

A second feature is the fact that most European Leagues have ended and for those Kenyans who were playing for their respective teams, it is ample time to come back and do national duty for the game. But with the unresolved issues of McDonald Mariga's refunds and the tiff between Dennis Oliech, EABL and Harambee Stars Management Board, you can rest assured the two will not feature in the upcoming game. Coach Francis Kimanzi will have the unenviable task of naming a team more likely to have new faces & local players as opposed to the over-reliance on the pros.
Third, we have the game taking place at the reopened and refurbished Kasarani ( or by the mouthful name of Moi International Sports Centre-MISC). The facility has ample space for parking, fans and teams alike as well as a great atmosphere for such a game. The venue has also been a good omen to the national team having played games there against big teams and going home victors in front of the home fans. Remember Kenya v/s Nigeria in 1996?
Lastly it will be a long weekend courtesy of a public holiday on 1st June thus providing the perfect excuse for the discerning sports fans in Kenya for a good weekend outing.
Thus said, all Kenyan football fans can show up and support the team to ensure they start on the right footing for the World Cup journey to the Samba country.
Tickets for the game shall be sold online for the first time as Football Kenya Federation tries to beat fake tickets peddlers and ensuring a more centralised and user-friendly mode of acquiring match tickets. You can access the site at www.kapstickets.com and pay via MasterCard, Visa or Airtel Money ( wonder why they never incorporated the more popular M-Pesa...)

Update:
As of Monday 28th May, Dennis Oliech had reported to the Kenyan training camp at Kenya School of Monetary Studies for the Kenya - Malawi game.  Word has it that FKF & EABL had sought to clear the small issue of using his image(s) for the Tusker/Harambee Stars promo. Hope it's the last we're hearing of this and look forward to Kenya making the best of the qualifications to the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.

Statistics thus far:
Going into Saturday's game, Kenya has played 56 games for the World Cup qualifiers; won 18, drawn in 12 and lost 26. A dismal performance indeed! But as they say, every day is a new day and the boys can rise up and rewrite history...time will tell!

Dennis Oliech, FKF & EABL - Get it Together People!

Tusker Sponsorship stirs Harambee Stars' Nest

While the remuneration saga has been going on for the last few weeks now, Dennis Oliech's retirement threat seems to have finally caught the football world's attention.  A brief history of this is that, East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL) through its flagship brand  Tusker confirmed sponsorship of the national football team Harambee Stars in anticipation of the Africa Cup of Nations 2013 qualifiers and the World Cup in 2014 in Brazil....all good so far...

Mariga, Oliech & Mugalia (Image that stirred the Hornet's Nest) - www.futaa.com

As part of the agreement whose details have yet to be revealed but Harambee Stars Management Board seems to know, EABL were allegedly given rights to use the images of the national players as part of their promotional material to drive their brand communication.
Now that's where the line becomes blurred.
Oliech came out openly in the use of his image (along with MacDonald Mariga & Ben Mugalia) for the Tusker promotion. FKF and the Harambee Stars Management Board accused him of his lack of loyalty to the national cause and sacrificing self to play for Kenya.

Players' Endorsements & Players Dues
While some may argue that Dennis Oliech is a professional and should overlook the said endorsement fees, it calls to fore the use of Kenyan sports personalities and lack of proper remuneration and contractual commitments.
Looking at the EABL/Tusker sponsorship, that brand generates millions in sales and even if they might not feel inclined to pay the individual players, it would be presumed to be part of the KShs. 110 million committed. Sponsorship fees made by Kenyan corporate firms are usually committed to the national teams or otherwise but most of these funds never actually trickle down to the players and if they do, its miniscule.
Enter Football Kenya Federation, though in office for only a few months, they have not entirely endeared themselves to the national team players. Already one of the best goalkeepers in Arnold Origi announced his retirement last year after Kenya's failure to  qualify for Africa Cup of Nations in 2012. MacDonald Mariga also complained about non-committal arrangements in refund of his air-flight tickets for national team engagements. Read in interesting article here on national team players' welfare.
If you look at the complaints they are coming from the professional players who interact with other players in the European leagues. Thus they would have an idea of what they are claiming to be their rightful dues.
Back to FKF, we know that players have often turned up for national engagements without allowances for months on end. That a few players don't mind playing for Harambee Stars even if they're paid a pittance are supposed to be old stories.

To bring this rant to a logical end,

1. EABL and FKF should ensure they outline the details of the sponsorship agreement, even if they have to disclose such details as who gets what and promotional material usage etc.
2. Also Kenyan corporate firms, it's about time you paid up a little more to our Kenyan sports personalities. 
3. Kenyan and other corporate firms, when making any commitment to sports activities, remember at the final end the players welfare is paramount. Without this, the end consumer that you target will be a disillusioned lot and that's not what your brand(s) stand for.
4. Its about time Kenyan football players formed a Players' Association. And if there is one then it's not doing its work. Player grievances and issues such as player contracts, players remuneration, injuries, agents' activities and all others relating to players should be addressed through a common voice. This will ensure you have a strong bond and common purpose to realising the interests of players.

Top Earning Sports Personalities in Kenya in 2010

Sport in Kenya has slowly become bread and butter for people fully engaged in it professionally. Fondly referred to by its peers as a ‘sporting nation’, the fact of the matter though is that much of the earnings are lop-sided with the one sport (athletics) accounting for almost 70% of total earnings.
The other sport, football also has two individuals sitting among the top earners but they ply their trade overseas with little or no earnings from the local scene. It is also worth noting that some sporting disciplines have been able to attract major sponsorships as a discipline but the trickle-down effect to the players has not been reflected. This is the case in golf and rugby which enjoyed in excess of KShs 1 billion and 0.5 billion respectively.
However going by the winnings, appearance fees and maybe some endorsement figures (throw ad revenues in there) and this is our list, in no particular order (most of these are estimates as actual figures are not easily availed here). We hope to inspire the budding talent waiting in the wings to take these individuals places;

Mariga - Image courtesy of www.inter.it

1. McDonald Mariga – having transferred to the Italian club Inter Milan from Parma mid-way last season, he was part of the 2010 UEFA Champions League, Italian League and Italian Cup title wins last year. Add with the heavily criticized ad and endorsement with UAP Insurance and Coca-Cola Kenya

{Estimates: $12,000,000 p.a., excl, bonuses and endorsements}

2. Samuel Wanjiru – winning the Chicago Marathon (prize money & time bonuses of US$ 115,000); as well as earning an appearance fee of an average of US$ 250,000. He also won the World Marathon Majors 2009-10 getting US$ 500,000. There is the sponsorship deal with Meiji Seika sponsorship deal ( makers of sports supplement Savas) worth US$ 3 million spread over 10 years signed in 2008

{Estimates:  US$ 500,000 for World Marathon title, US$ 115,000 prize money & bonus in Chicago, Appearance fees average of US$ 250,000 & US$ 300,000 per year for next 10 years from 2008-2018}

3. Dennis Oliech – he also plies his trade in Europe thus he has some sizeable income from the French League. He has not had much in endorsements both locally and abroad due to his initial big-headedness and national team mishaps. He has mellowed now and recently signed an extension contract with French club AJ Auxerre.

{Estimates:  between US$ 870,000 – 12,000,000 p.a.}

4. David Rudisha –the darling of the athletics world last year and Kenyans gave him a hell of a vote (online) and won the IAAF Male Sports Athlete of the Year; he also won a couple of races on the IAAF Diamond League of course attracting some bonuses as he broke the record twice in the space of one week

{Estimates: US$ 100,000 for World Athlete of the Year 2010, US$ 40,000 from IAAF Diamond League, undisclosed appearance and record breaking fees}

Nancy L- Gold medal 2010 CWG- New Delhi

5. Nancy Jebet Langat – she had a mixed year, being part of the winners of the inaugural IAAF Diamond League and also winning a Commonwealth gold ( some pickings from the government for winners can be added up); also won the Sports Personality of the Year Award-Kenya Female - 2010 edition 

{Estimates: US$ 40,000 IAAF Diamond League winnings, US$ 6,250 for 2010 SOYA Lady winner, Govt bonus from 2010 Commonwealth Gold medal}

5.    Other special mentions;

6. Mary Keitany – women half marathon specialists, won the World Half Marathon title in 2009, 2010 Abu Dhabi Half Marathon and Ras al Khaimah Half Marathon ( where she broke the world record this year)

{Estimates: US$ 357,740 in prize money, appearance fees and record-breaking bonuses

7. Edna Kiplagat – winner of 2010 Los Angeles Marathon and New York Marathon

{Estimates: US$ 303,000}

8. Wilson K. Kiprotich – marathoner

{Estimates: US$ 197,010}

Robert K. Cheruiyot - 2010 Boston Marathon Winner

9. Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot – winner of 2010 Boston Marathon, quoted saying he would buy 50 more cows from his prize money of US$ 175,000

{Estimates: US$ 175, 545}

Do Kenyan Sports Personalities have PR experts?

As the year came to a close, the sporting world was treated to some not so interesting news of Kenya's Samuel Wanjiru's alleged wife battery and consequent prosecution. As usual media houses were quick to pick on the item and some went to the extent of interviewing the wife and causing quite some embarrassment for the athlete{do a quick search of his name on Google News and see the results}.

What did I do now? 

Not that we excuse sports personalities behaviours, but do Kenyan sports personalities engage in proper PR services? Why we ask?
The aforementioned is bound to suffer some damages not just in trying to recover for the year's engagements, but also current and future endorsements. The psychological effects will almost surely see performances dwindle too.
This reminds me of one of Kenya's more famous cricket men, one Maurice Odumbe. The issues that affected this Kenyan sportman left him all the worse off and though he has tried making a comeback, we all know he might never recover to play for the national team.
Dennis 'The Menace' Oliech - that middle nickname didn't come from his comparison to some famous comic character rather more for his erratic behaviour off the pitch and more so on the local social scene. He had his brother as agent (and maybe PR too but we all know where he was headed). A little more sombre nowadays, he has made some positive changes, maybe the professional colleagues at Auxerre 'ironed him' out on that one.
The list is long of other sports personalities. How they manage the crisis and get out of it requires some inspired PR spin and obviously not for the faint hearted. There are those that manage to comeback and of course the athlete too has to help his or her cause by putting on some great performances.
In the increasingly small world that we are developing to, use of social media and such other platforms can be used to improve the image. Of course, social media has its misgivings of not being within too much control unlike traditional media channels, but if your fans understand you and believe in you genuinely beyond life's bumpy rides, it can be a powerful tool to consider.
As for Samuel Wanjiru, sharing experiences with Tiger Woods, Wayne Rooney or one American footballer Michael Vicks might help shake off some of the bad omen and get the career back on track.

Kenya v/s Uganda 0-0 :12th man doesn’t get his money’s worth

It was to be a clash of monumental proportions, a decisive tie for Kenya but the show never happened. Well for those of us who braved the scorching sun to make our way into the stadium, lots of disappointment and unmet expectations.

The Ugandans had promised to come in their bus loads and they did. By last count there were twenty 49-seater buses with more minibuses (some parked in town due to heavy traffic on Uhuru Highway) and numerous personal vehicles. Oh by the way it was Independence Day today and maybe that’s why they should up in their numbers.

They said that it was the 12^th man who would make victory ours. That we did and the droves of fans had streamed in from 10 a.m. As we made our way into the stadium, some not interesting sights of Kenyans ‘cutting queues’ and security hired for the day (G4S...Ponyoka na $$$) and regular police kept allowing impatient & irritating guys who almost faced the wrath of fans who filed along well.

Onto the game and our boys looked a bit rusty and the Ugandans looked more technically able. They kept our defence on the back seat for the first 15min with good use of the flanks. We took time to get the game back and Mariga started lording it over the midfield but most of the other players around him kept waiting for him to make his move.

The best chance of the 1^st half was the dead ball situation which Mariga cut down through the wall but straight into the hands of the able goalkeeper who plays for SuperSport in South Africa.  Much of the action in the first half was not all that to write home about.

2^nd half and the game Kenyans had gone to watch almost came to pass. With Mariga now making some nice exchanges with the rest of the players in the mould of  Edgar Ochieng, Victor Mugabe and Dennis Oliech.The worst bit was the fact that we didn’t quite utilize those chances. Another deadball situation and Mariga’s kick hit the post again.

Mid-way into the 2^nd half and the Ugandas were back to their flanks and the right one looked like their favourite side. They saw more of the ball and they seemed content to cross them past our goal mouth. By the 80^th minute, it looked like ours was a lost cause.

Man of the Match : Without a doubt, MacDonald Mariga - we qualify him as our captain, not because he is playing Inter or Europe but he has the calmness and ability to make the other players dig themselves in.

Plusses:

•  Fans did come in their numbers without a doubt and the stadium was almost filled to capacity.
• Ticketing was almost on point - no need of walking to the gates & monies collection points
• Ban of bottled substances – we know what is usually in the bottles is not the stuff meant to be in those bottles. They also serve as missiles when fans when they get discontented with play on the field.
• Fair security – Fair because their presence kept the crowd in check
• Weather – beyond our control but yes it was nice to have the sun shining on our brows

Drawbacks:

• The fans who were to be the 12^th man at times kept mum only coming back when the Ugandans cheered along their team. We don’t seem to have a song or chant that unites the fans and no those political songs are so 2007. We should hire the rugby crowd next time.
• Shall we see reciprocity of sorts from our Kenyan politicians and businessmen? The Ugandans travelled in true sports fans passion and their presence strengthened their team. Mike ‘Sonko’ , Mr. PM anyone?
• Ticketing – while they insisted on not selling tickets at the venue, no arrangements were made for the visiting team fans. Even the VIP ones were totally sold out and the spaces filled out – disappointing if you paid that slight amount for money.
• Lack of merchandise – The flags and wraps were good but since we don’t usually know the national colours worn at any particular time, we can’t stock up on the team shirts.
• Security – Meant to help maintain law and order, they also were the part of the loopholes of people coming in without tickets. We counted over 10 people who ‘sneaked in’ even after we alerted them.
• Parking- If the stadium is to maintain its international status; the Stadia Management Board must find some better space of parking for fans. International standards demand that only team vehicles, ambulances and fire engines and security vehicles should be anywhere close to the ground. Seeing the loads of buses too close to the stadium was a major concern. Thank God the score was as it was, Lord have mercy had Uganda won the game.
• Technical expertise – the technical bench at times looked like they were waiting for reactions from the fans. Still on the same, please get a new captain, the current one didn’t seem to rally the players up even when the game was getting out of reach.
• TV/Media Rights - the circus is truly NOT out of town when it comes to Football Kenya Limited and on Saturday they ensured that no media house screened the game thanks to the greed in selling the media rights. Our own media houses are not without blame for imagining that they can wait till the last minute to make a compromise bid. We hope both parties learned and moreso the Football Kenya who's term is really living on borrowed time. 

Now that we have made life difficult for ourselves in qualifying for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, the rest of group games we MUST WIN (almost impossible) given we have an away game in Angola and another in Uganda- Kampala. Back to square one!

Africa Cup of Nations 2012 Qualification - Decisive Clash for Kenya

After the usual circus that is Kenyan national football, this weekend we welcome our neighbours Uganda who are riding high on their chances after beating Angola in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification ties. With the fixture looking all more important for Kenya it is being rumoured that none other than the Head of State Pres Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is expected to grace the match - to show allegiance and support to his side.

With the countries currently enjoying a hot-cold relationship with the rather peculiar controversy of 'some rock' on Lake Victoria and the renditions of Kenyan Muslim human rights over the Kampala bombings in July 2010, the temperatures are rising by the day. Also controversial is the fact that Kenya has changed tacticians once again bringing back Mr. Jacob 'Ghost' Mulee who though we respect his work might just end up as his predecessor Twahir Muhiddin.
Group J has Angola and Guinea-Bissau as the other teams. Let's see what the game holds for us;

Strengths:
- Home ground - Being played before the home fans who have been streaming back to the stadiums to watch the local teams, there is bound to be overwhelming support for the Harambee Stars. What is lacking is the right 'hype' to fill the stadium and promote the fixture. By asking the top Government offficials, Mr Titus Kasuve is not enough.
- Professionals - Having the Oliechs and Marigas on the team who have been enjoying playing time on their respective European leagues is also a boon to the team. This though needs to translate to goals with at least 3 looking to 'charge' the team and fans to cloud 9.

Weaknesses:
- Nyayo National Stadium capacity - while it will be played at this ground, the capacity of the ground is limited to a little over 30,000 and any more than that is a crisis in waiting. We know what happens when the crowd is larger and passions up there. We can't afford to be banned hosting future games on the grounds not now not ever!
- Team spirit- Losing to the minnows of the group dropped the team morale to a new low and there were media reports of team disunity. We also question the coach's choice of Dennis Oliech ( all respects to him as a player). You need a more unifying factor in the team.
- Uganda's flying start - Beating Angola who hosted the last Cup of Nations and were in the 2006 World Cup is no mean feat. The Ugandans have less than 5 players playing in the European leagues so they have something else inspiring their play.
- Consistency on the technical bench - if we have to win future games, there has to be some consistency on who sits on the technical bench. (We're made to understand they appointed an assistant coach who's currently in Europe studying, pray the head coach doesn't get red-carded anytime soon....). If the FKL officials or whoever is in charge wants to do the country a favour, get the right people for the job or at least give them ample time to prove themselves. Create the right working environment and please get some contracts done and no playing with allowances or other financial obligations. You have more than enough funds from FIFA to bankroll this.

Our Uganda brothers are really excited about this fixture as you can see here and yes let's keep it on the pitch (as written by Daily Monitor's Mark Ssali) Come 9th October and let's see the boys put on a good show and get 2012 preparations back on the road. Haraaambeee !

Harambee Stars Woes, are we surprised?

It baffles the way Kenyan football fans are quick to put blame on one or the other for the team's poor performance in recent times. Are we surprised by that? Not from our brief here.
It is always going to be tricky affair translating good league fixture games to national team performances. That FKL has always been joking when it comes to the national team is something that needs to end. How can a team train for 4 days and then leave on the actual day to play a fixture which is more than 6 hours away? And you expected to win?
You must also have read The Daily Nation's- Macharia Gaitho's story about our team draping in all sorts of colours thus no consistency there too!

Harambee Stars A.Makacha  in a Weird colour - (Courtesy of www.kenyafootball.com) 

Not even the presence of famed duo of MacDonald Mariga and Dennis Oliech could save the blushes the team suffered. What is amusing is that the technical bench found it fair to play Oliech as the captain for the day ( though Robert Mambo remains the captain) even though he hadn't trained with the team. If players decided to have a go-slow on the pitch and thus lose the game, well they did just that and now complicate their qualification chances in a group featuring Angola, Uganda and Guinea-Bissau (who were labelled the under-dogs). The next fixture has Kenya facing Uganda in a month's time (Oct 8th at Kasarani)...should be an interesting fixture...
But if we are to make a difference in the qualifications, the rot starts from the top and needs to be pruned soonest possible. No need to blame the Twahirs, Oliechs, or other excuses that we've sought. Or else we shall remain non-starters on the continental-stage!

Dennis Oliech's Auxerre makes Champions League matches worth the watch for Kenyans

Thanks to 2-1 aggregate against Zenit St. Petersburg , Kenyan football fans will now have two players ( and teams) to root for during the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League games this season. Auxerre confirmed their qualification to the UEFA Champs League group stages which kick off on Tuesday September 14th,2010. After last year's debut by MacDonald Mariga who's Inter Milan went all the way to winning the treasured Cup, shall we have a second bite at the cherry? Far-fetched but worth the watch.
The draw for the group is on later today and we shall see who plays who with the pots drawing as follows;

Pots for UEFA Champions League draw:

Pot One: Inter Milan, Barcelona, Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Lyon.

Pot Two: Werder Bremen, Real Madrid, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, Benfica, Valencia, Marseille, Panathinaikos.

Pot Three: Tottenham, Rangers, Ajax, Schalke, Basle, Braga, FC Copenhagen, Spartak Moscow.

Pot Four: Hapoel Tel Aviv, FC Twente, Rubin Kazan, Auxerre, CFR Cluj, Partizan Belgrade, MSK Zilina, Bursaspor.

(Source ; www.bbc.co.uk) 

Related News:

Macdonald Mariga is hoping to use his current placing at Inter Milan to land European football scouts to the local scene. After the country's past dismal performance and with the current resurgence in the local league, there is bound to be some talent budding which needs to land our young players to the lucrative leagues.  With this it is hoped that we can challenge for continental honours and also be able to make a point if not qualify for the 2014 World Cup - I don't see why not !

Mariga's Inter Milan Score Treble but....

Over the weekend for most Kenyans it was the perfect curtain-raiser for the upcoming 2010 World Cup. Kenya's own Macdonald Mariga didn't play in the Final but that was not a hindrance as by virtue of his team being in the final, we rooted for the team to make history under one Jose Mourinho.
History indeed was made and Inter became among the elite European teams of winning the treble ( the League Championship, League Cup and Champions League) - other teams being Ajax Amsterdam, Celtic , among others and most recently Barcelona last season.
While we congratulate Mourinho for winning these titles, there is the small thing of his unconfirmed move to Real Madrid. As he was quoted saying that any manager worth his salt must have coached in the 3 most competitive leagues, and that Real's always a boon; we cannot guarantee Mariga's fate in playing for regular games for Inter let alone his being part of next season's team.

Hoping Mourinho's continues with his tradition of moving along with some of the players who help him mould a team, Mariga might be excess of his requirements given the La Liga's team penchant for spending excessively to attract the best talent. Again seeing as some of the game's scouts might be tempted to indulge in the transfer market after the World Cup hoping to get some raw talent  from there ( though most post-World Cup signings prove to be highly over-rated, we all know of the Davor Sukers, Denilsons and others of this game).
There is also the bait that Manchester City might be seeking what they missed out in the mid-season's signings in January. 
All in all, we pray our home-boy gets the chance to prove his own on the pitch whichever team he plays for, we shall be seeing our boys conquer Europe in the 2010/2011 Champions League.

Note:
Dennis Oliech's the other Kenya expected to play in next season's Champions' League after Auxerre finished third and thus is to play in the League proper. We sure hope to see more Kenyans moving into the lucrative fields after getting transfers from the local league as we improve on our game here. Who's most likely to join Mariga and Oliech? Keep it here as we keep you posted on the off-season, summer signings.

UEFA Champions League 2010/2011 : Double Treat for Kenyan fans

Thanks to the exploits of their respective teams Inter Milan (Italy) and Auxerre (France), Kenyan football fans shall be treated and enjoy more UEFA Champions League 2010/2011 than has ever been. Seeing our very own is bound to change quite a number of dynamics especially TV rights  and viewership.
This year the only local TV station screening the matches was K24 (which a little birdie tells me partners with KBC, but is trying to cut its own niche). In 2008/9 NTV, Nation Media Group's Kenyan TV station had that priviledge but has left it audience asking what happened to its sports offering.
To our two brothers, it is kudos and wish Mariga's Inter all the best against German's champions Bayern Munich on Saturday 22nd May. It would be a nice crowning moment for all football fans across the country this season, before we start the 2010 World Cup in June.