AFC Leopards v/s Gor Mahia - Kenya's Biggest Football Derby '12 Second Edition

KPL and football pundits are rubbing their hands with glee as the biggest football derby in the country comes to fruition this weekend at the newly refurbished Kasarani grounds ( MISC if you like). A couple of weeks ago, it looked like AFC Leopards had all but sealed the top spot going into the 2nd and final leg of the 2012 season of Kenya's premier football league. But the last couple of games have ended in draws and a more recent loss to Western Stima in Nakuru reduced the gap between the top 3 teams by 2-points ( NB: reigning champions Tusker FC lead by virtue of a better goal advantage but are equal in points with AFC at 45 points).
On the other hand, Gor Mahia have been on the rise after brushing aside on their worst starts to the league earlier this year. They had to change the management and are currently under Croat Zdravko Logarusic who has steered the ship back into title contention with an unbeaten run 19-games, they look every bit as champions already. Marshalling one of the biggest fan base (and most emotive too), the club shall hope to maintain this streak come Saturday.
It must be the gods blessings that the current season sees both teams in contention for the title and as such making it a mouth-watering game whichever way you look at it. And with 8 games left, the title race is still any club's taking. This should be the motivation for both teams who's touch on the top prize in the last 3 years has been close yet so far.

Interesting Facts:

• Both AFC Leopards & Gor Mahia have won the Premiership title 12 times each;
• Both teams are currently coached by foreigners Dutchman Jan Koops (AFC Leopards) and Croat-born Z. Logarusic;
• Gor Mahia finished 4th and AFC Leopards 5th respectively in the 2011 season;
• Both clubs have the largest corporate sponsorships with Gor Mahia's Brookside shirt sponsorship tipping AFC's Mumias Sugar deal;
• Both teams were recently incorporated into a fan-base drive by one of Kenya's leading media group dubbed Toklezea na Jalee meant to encourage both clubs' fans to buy merchandise that will help build their respective kitties. 
• Both clubs have the biggest fan-base between them, fondly referring to each other as Shemeji, thanks to the politics of the day...which are very fluid in this part of the world.
• The 1st leg was Gor Mahia hosting AFC Leopards with the game briefly abandoned before ending in a draw - though with officials from both sides blaming each other for fan trouble. This 2nd leg is AFC's though Safari 7s necessitated the move to MISC and also change of date from Sunday to Saturday.

Saturday 1600hours is the kick-off at the Kasarani stadium ( with SuperSport 9 East screening the game live for those not brave enough to venture into the hallowed grounds) !

African Women's Volleyball Club Championships - Can Kenyan clubs pull it off?

From 10th-19th of May, Nairobi shall play host to the 2012 African Women's Volleyball Club championships to be held at the MISC- Kasarani Gym (if renovation works at the centre finally permit...), with 2 other venues on stand-by in case of any changes. These are African Nazarene indoor volleyball court as well as Brookfield Schools' court.

Once again Kenyan women volleyballers will have the chance to show the continent, why they are the leading proponents in the club game. This would be sweet solace after missing out on Olympic qualifications for the second time after losing out to the Algerians early this year.

Kenya will be represented by 3 clubs including 2-time reigning champions Kenya Prisons, regular finalists and past winners Kenya Pipeline as well as KCB. On paper the Kenyan clubs start as favourites not just because of their regular appearances in the finals but also because of the home court advantage.
They would also love to serve notice as to why they are still among the best in the continent. Each of these clubs have been in residential training and have recruited heavily from high schools and higher learning institutions to ensure continuity and fresh talent.

The only undoing has been lack of a proper professional league in the country unlike some of the North Africans such as Algeria and Egypt. The clubs from these two countries enjoy massive corporate support as well as professionalised services in their recruitment, training and exposure too.
The gap between the North Africans and also the West Africans is slowly closing and it better serve notice to the Kenya Volleyball Federation to raise the standards of the game locally too.
Last week, the Kenyan men's club representatives Kenya Prisons were bundled out of the Men's Africa Club championships in the semi-finals. It has been a tough time for the male players who haven't been able to match their female counterparts both at club and national level.

All in all, join us as we savour the continental game starting next Wednesday at the Kasarani gym. Wonder if any of the Kenyan media houses will choose to screen the games live...what say SuperSport with their SuperSport 9-EA?

Elgon Cup, London Marathon, El Classico - Busy Sporting Weekend

The second last weekend of April represents a nice offering for Kenyan sporting fans. What with all the rains pounding much of the country, it's a mostly indoors affair for Kenyan (save for the fact that @KenyaPower may have other ideas depending on your side of the hood...)
This one has quite a flurry of activity and sporting events to look out for;



Rugby

Elgon Cup poster

Kenya's rivalry with Uganda for the 2012 Elgon Cup is renewed tomorrow at the famous Kyadondo Grounds in Kampala. The last few haunts to that ground have not been very successful for Kenyans. The coach Mike 'Tank' Otieno has introduced quite a number of fresh players hoping to expose these to the tougher and longer version of the game ( 15-a-side). We pray for a Kenya win and wish the best in their Kyadondo outing.The game will be screened live on SuperSport.


Football
The local league continues with some interesting fixtures such as the AFC Leopards v/s Tusker in Mombasa, Gor Mahia v/s Ulinzi Stars in Nakuru, among others. Leopards is slowly building a gap at the top, but these are early stages and 2-3 games can quickly change what may have seemed like a sterling season. Gor Mahia will be playing their first game after the decision to discipline their fans for the fracas during the AFC v/s Gor Mahia game. There is also the #BongaBoli  follow on Twitter @BongaBoli promo seeking a Kiswahili football-caster for SuperSport as they develop content for their East African channel 9. This weekend they visit the lakeside town of Kisumu.
Internationally there is the EPL big one Arsenal ( which enjoys quite a following around this part of the world) and Chelsea. It's the feature game on Saturday starting at 1445hours. Later in the evening is the biggest derby in club football in Spain where Barcelona faces up Real Madrid for the title race. Each of these sides came out of UEFA Champions League licking their wounds. It ought to be a cracker as Lionel Messi tries to outscore Cristiano Ronaldo - for the Pichichi Award.

Athletics
After a fairly successful outing of Kenyan marathoners last weekend in Boston, Sunday, the London marathon is back! After taking both the men's and women's title, this will be no walk in the park as the Ethiopians and also some Chinese will hoping to make the podium.
This race will help (or further complicate...) the selection process for the Kenyan team for the Olympic Games which come back to this city in July-August later this year.
Emmanuel Mutai will be hoping to defend his win last year but will have to give chase to 3-time winner Martin Lel, world record holder Patrick Makau and world champion Abel Kirui. A tough call to pick the winner right there!
Mary Keitany leads the women's charge and will be given a run by one of the Dibaba sisters Ejegayehu Dibaba.

Formula One

Bahrain GP

Yes this sport has developed quite a following in the country even when some of the races are in some ungodly hours of Sunday morning or evening. This weekend sees GP teams visiting the Arab state of Bahrain. The first practice session today saw Lewis Hamilton emerge tops amidst controversies and tomorrow the cars and drivers take back to the track to see who attains pole position in the starting grid.
 
All the above action is available on the SuperSport channels for those who feel like staying indoors. If you can afford to hang out at a pal's or your local hang-out, then these too can provide you with some nice weekend action!

AFC Leopards v/s Gor Mahia - KPL's Main Highlight this weekend

Kenya's Premier League's started in earnest and this weekend the biggest derby in the country's history unfolds on Sunday at 1500hours.

AFC Leopards v/s Gor Mahia in a past game - image courtesy of www.futaa.com

This season though, AFC Leopards are currently the fastest kids off the blocks, having won 4 out of their first 5 matches. They had some signings in the off-season which have seen them scalping every team in their wake.
Allan Wanga's been their starry-eyed player for the moment for AFC. He's scored  in all except one match including a delightful free-kick against Ulinzi FC in February which saw him voted by sports journalist as the Kandanda Player of the Month ( taking home trophy & 10,000 to boot). He has ably taken off the load of scoring which had been left to Mike Barasa for the better part of last season. Along with other new signings, the team seems to be gelling faster than the rest. The good tidings for Jan 'Wephukulu' Koops also seem to be pouring onto the team's fortunes as they did for the latter part of last season. Modest financial backing from sponsors as well as favourable ticket sales from match-days have seen the financials fortunes of the club stabilise in the short-term.
Gor Mahia on the other hand have not been able to secure good results which has resulted in the sacking of its entire technical bench. The team's currently placed 14th, two places from the bottom of the table standings. With the team being bundled out of continental championship and the 'colossal' expectations of its huge fan-base, the players will have pride to fight for in this fixture. Their off-season signings have taken long to cobble up a formidable team but if they have the patience, they will be rewarded in good time.
Last season's similar fixture saw Gor Mahia beat AFC by 3-1 only for the latter to reverse the results by 3-0 margin. As always the stakes are high for both teams { who's fans affectionately call each other shemeji - (cousins) thanks to the political alignments and geographical proximity of majority of the fans }.

For you the discerning Kenyan football fan, this is surely not to be missed and if in the unlikely event you can't make it to the Nyayo National Stadium, catch the action on SuperSport 9 East Africa !

Check out this blog which aggregates news about AFC Leopards team activities and games, pre-match and post-match analysis. As for Gor Mahia, this link might help too!