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| AFC Leopards v/s Gor Mahia earlier this year - Image via www.michezoafrika.com |
First things first though, we condemn the actions of those Gor Mahia fans who damaged property and other movables on Saturday after their final game against Thika United. Your actions led to the prolonged chaos and unnecessary tragedies to innocent by-standers who had absolutely nothing to do with the game.
Secondly and this is where we still believe KPL officials still turn a blind eye and deal with Gor Mahia club with kid gloves, condemnation and punishment should come in HARD. The club has its share of troubled matches and this past season was no exception. There was some semblance of punishment but KPL and Sports Stadia officials bulked down at some point due to shrinking revenues. But what good does it do when a single club's fans threaten an entire league's future just because of some few bad elements? If points have to be docked or games played in empty stadia, so be it...ili iwe funzo!
Third, many ardent Gor Mahia fans are quick to excuse themselves and say that those causing problems are thugs and not anyone associated with the club. But isn't it a familiar trend, draw or lose a crucial game and some form of chaos comes from the proceedings of post-game activities? Out of 16 teams in the Kenya Premier League, which club has the highest incidence of fan trouble, riots, property damage etc? The record speaks for itself, season in, season out.
Fourth, internally the club's officials have to ensure they identify and weed out elements who keep repeating these unnecessary activities. In leagues such as the South American and European leagues, hooligans have been identified by respective clubs officials and blacklisted by security organs who share these across borders. Though not entirely weeded out, clubs which deviate from a semblance of order are heavily punished and thus officials have decided to be pro-active unlike their counterparts here.
Fifth, for once we agreed with FKF officials who had advised for the game to be moved to Kasarani Stadium on Thika Road ( good god it didn't happen, otherwise the renovated grounds would have been defaced ...maybe.... But Gor officials pleaded with KPL and SuperSport for the game to remain at City Stadium. Except for the artificial turf that was installed, those grounds are not fit for a game of such magnitude. Nairobi City Council (will it exist as is or does it change to County of Nairobi???)or whoever is in charge of the grounds needs to close for a year or so, make proper sitting spaces, proper security arrangements and lighting(floodlights), parking lots and access points and move those hawkers surrounding the stadium. And any day it hosts such a match have proper security systems and traffic regulation.
Sixth it is tragic that the very same political elite that seek to identify with the club do not condemn and make the bad elements stand out when they cause such destruction. Let's not lie but the club gets its largest followership from one of the Kenyan communities but that doesn't mean it doesn't have other fans from other communities. Thus the politicians may go easy on the Gor 'fans' for the fear of antagonizing a valuable voting bloc asset. That our politicians have perfected the smoke and mirror acts has also pervaded our sports scene and it's something we will either learn to live with and suffer for it or deal with it before it takes our football back to the doldrums.
Seventh, sections of the media have not been active enough in condemning and/or calling those charged to take more responsibility on such activities. We have heard that some sports editorials are compromised before stories are aired either for fear of reprieve from sports administrators who 'grease' those in the take with freebies, tickets or accreditation to international events. These are elements who are putting our sports scene in serious doubts. What happened to the proverbial 'voice of reason'? For those of you who think hooliganism is a way of sport, then we should stop humouring ourselves that we are helping the game. Hooliganism and its associated acts is bad for any sport and should be rooted out of Kenyan sport before it develops strong roots. It's interesting that a game like rugby which is known to associate with toughness and rugged players and who's majority of fans indulge in alcohol but are some of the most disciplined and gentle ones you'll ever come across. Maybe there is something we can learn from our rugby counterparts.
Oh and by the way Gor Mahia is facing AFC Leopards in an FKF Cup in a few days time, wonder what shall pan out of this derby?
For those wishing to engage in further literature you can read this link here on Soccer Violence in South America's Argentina. You can also check this on Hooliganism in the UK. We sampled the following Twitter comments and views on the post-match activities; {and the views contained therein are not in any way endorsements or approval of this blog's views and as such should be treated independent of the same}
@AKenyanGirl If #KOTs can make a stand against MPigs, we can and should do the same to #GorMahia. Say no to terror and murder in the name of football
@mmurumba Love for football can never be justified by hooliganism. #GorMahia shouldn't be allowed to participate in #TPL if they can't accept defeat.
@LukoyeAtwoli #GorMahia fans who make political statements (Gor, Obama, Raila), then complain when violence is blamed on ALL these are being disingenuous
@LarryMadowo I'm ashamed to be a #GorMahia fan. Which doofus supporters cannot accept a loss without violence? Plonkers still stuck in the Stone Age, nkt
@MauriYambo Leaders who bask in #GorMahia's glory days but 'hide' when hooligans flood the streets R doing us all a disservice. Time 4 serious man-talk!
@4lifestan A lot have been said concerning the #Gor eventful day, but if the end justifies the means, the club have a lot to ponder on a serious note.
@doreenapollos: Then you see juvenile #Gor fans posting rude tweets in defence,not knowing that rude attitude isn't helping but stamping the hooligan's view
@pmusesya If @robertalai wasn't a #Gor fan, he would be tweefing and condemning and leading a movement against them...oh well, (shrugs)
@suehlawrie This #Gor issue is about thugs and criminals who CHOOSE to attend Gor matches. It does not mean they are Gor fans. Fans respect their clubs.
@mosemogeni It doesn't matter how big or small the club is, if ur fans are criminals, bring them to justice. #Gor
@kachwanya Football is awesome and at the end of week people get something to be excited about but at the end of the day..it is just a game..
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