Road to Olympics : 1968 Mexico Games - Kenya sees Gold !

After participating in 3 consecutive Olympic Games, the country was slowly yearning for better achievements and for this the country's sports personalities were well rewarded. Mexico City - Mexico was also a first of many sorts and it earned a mixed bag of fortunes.

Mexico 1968 - image from www.olympics.org

Let's look at the facts and figures from the Games;

Figures & Results:

'Speed-Cop' Kipchoge Keino - image from Rich Clarkson

• 5556 participants from 112 countries was a marked improvement from the Tokyo Games '64;
• 172 events were held in 20 sports disciplines;
• Kenya participated in 4 sports disciplines - Athletics, Boxing, Hockey and Shooting;
• Kenya was placed 14th overall, a major improvement on the 1964 Games where she placed  35th.
• Kenya won 3 Gold namely; Kipchoge Keino-1,500m (M), Naftali Temu-10,000m and Amos Biwott-3000m steeplechase (which was to become Kenya's mainstay for any major events she participated in) ; 4 Silver; Wilson Kiprugut-800m, Kipchoge Keino-5,000m , Ben Kogo-3,000m steeplechase and the 4x400m men's team ( Daniel Rudisha, Charles Asati,Naftali Bon and Munyoro Nyamau); 2 Bronze; Naftali Temu-5,000m and Philip Waruinge -Featherweight boxing;
• Philip Waruinge was awarded the Val Barker Trophy for the Most Outstanding boxer 'pound-for-pound', despite winning the bronze in Featherweight. He remains the only African boxer to have won the trophy to date. 
• Kenya's Hockey team finished 8th overall, a drop from the 6th position from Tokyo Games;
• One John Harun (Mwau) was ranked 76th in Shooting's Mixed Small -Bore Rifle, Prone 50m. (He's currently an MP in Kenya's Parliament having had an illustrious career in the Kenya Police, Interpol as well as the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission).

Interesting Facts:

• As quoted in an online forum, this was the first Olympic Games to have 'first large-scale incursion of politics directly in the Olympic venues'.
• Mexico was the first developing country to host the Olympics. It was also at its 'highest altitude' ever at 2,240m (7,350 ft) a.s.l.(above sea level).
• Tommie Smith and John Carlos - US 200m (gold & bronze winners respectively)sprinters raised their fists clothed in black gloves during the medal awards ceremony- as a symbol of protest against human rights violation to the Black populace in United States. They also asked Australia's Peter Norman to wear a badge in solidarity with them. This cost them a life ban from any future Olympic Games or IOC-related events which was a bit too harsh if you ask me...
• Also joining in political protest was one Vera Caslavska - from former state Czechoslovakia ( now Czech & Slovak Republics after fall of communism in Eastern Europe) - her silent protest during medal awards was against Soviet invasion of the state.
• As noted before, Mexico City has the highest altitude ever for an Olympic event at 2,240m a.s.l - some in athletics were worried about its effects on the athletes including Kenya's own 'speed cop' Kip Keino but this turned out to a blessing in disguise with record-breaking performances from some of the other events.
• Bob Beamon (US) leapt 8.90m in the men's long jump to what would be one of athletics' most enduring world records. It still is the Olympic record.



Sequence of Fosbury Flop - image from www.shorecrest.org

• Dick Fosbury (US) won the high jump with the unconventional Fosbury Flop. This would eventually be adopted by most if not all high jumpers.
• One Jacques Rogge (current IOC President) represented Belgium for the first in 3 Olympic Games appearances in yachting. 
• John S. Akhwari(Tanzania) finished the men's marathon with a dislocated knee and this became a lasting symbol of the Olympic Games spirit - quipped here saying "my country did not send me 10,000 miles just to start the race, they sent me to finish the race. He is currently an Olympic Goodwill ambassador.
• Tlateloclo massacre - this happened 10 days to the opening of the Games and almost derailed the event. 44 people were killed as students and civilians rioted against 'repressive actions and blatant violation of university autonomy' by the Mexican government. A blown-up kite was flighted during the Games with the black shadow representing a 'silent protest' by the students.
• Drug-testing debuted to check on performance-enhancing drugs which was becoming a thorn in the flesh for amateur sports.

All in all, the Games marked an improved performance from Kenya and many African countries as most continued enjoying their newly-found independence from their colonial masters.
The Games had now become a major political platform for many States which knew that with the world glued to the television and other media channels, it was the perfect place to send out whatever message - be it silent, symbolic or otherwise.
Commercialisation of sports was also at its formative stages and going into the 1970s, this would form the basis of future sports business for most if not all sporting disciplines and events.

Sources:
International Olympics Committee www.olympic.org
National Olympic Committee-Kenya
Britannica Encyclopedia www.britannica.com
About.com www.about.com
Wikipedia www.wikipedia.com

The Bake Blog Awards 2012

For you in the blogosphere in Kenya, you now have added motivation to keep your blog active. Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) announces The BAKE Blog Awards 2012 seeking " to reward exceptional bloggers and to promote content creation in Kenya" . It will also hope to reward bloggers who have posted 'consistently, have great and useful content and are creative and innovative'.

Submissions were opened from 15th March (today) in 14 categories and close on 29th March. Public voting for the blogs will be opened from 10th April. There will be an Award Gala Dinner on 28th April at a venue to be announced.

For those who don't know what BAKE is , it was formed last year to promote development of local content through the various topics/categories in ranging from the following 14 ; technology, business, photography, creative writing, food, agriculture, politics, general, corporate and sports(where you can vote for yours truly...). There are also regular meet-ups for BAKE members to meet fellow bloggers face-to-face every other month.

This is a welcome effort after the  KenyaUnlimited-sponsored Kenya's Bloggers Webring die a slow death. It sought to award pioneering Kenyan bloggers who were quite few back in the day. Now's the numbers have grown and still growing by the day, with some becoming fully-fledged websites and others major social media sites.

For more details on the BAKE Blog Awards , check this link, http://bloggers.or.ke/!

Pamela Jelimo & Hellen Obiri - We Salute you ladies!

As most sporting action had been turned to other sporting events, this weekend the World Athletics Indoor championships made sure that Kenyan sporting prowess was once again promoting the country's richness on the world stage.
Having had a past poor record in the event, most Kenyan journos had also not put much interest into the going-ons and this blogger too had overlooked what would be a memorable Sunday for the country. Since Kenya's first gold in 1989 in Budapest, thanks to one Paul Ereng ( who also won the 1991 gold medal in the 800m), our showing has been rather dismal with a few silver sprinkled among the other 4 gold the country has won in this indoor sports event.

From left, Kenyan starlets - Pamela Jelimo & Helen Obiri - image courtesy of www.nation.co.ke

Thus our hopes had been somewhat tempered not just by the country's poor showing but also by the fact that the athletes representing the country in the various races have not been having an easy time in their outdoor events. This was best exemplified by Pamela Jelimo who had dropped from competition in the past two seasons due to injury and also low self-esteem after storming onto the scene in 2008 and winning everything on offer that year.
But as they say, in sport you're only as good as your last event, two ladies in Pamela Jelimo and Hellen Obiri had their scripts to write and lead the country's slaught for places on the podium. Where their male counter-parts faltered, they picked themselves up and ensured a place for Kenya in the 2012 championships.
Big KUDOS for your wins!
So Athletics Kenya, can we manage a bigger squad for more honours for the indoor event? With the droves of young talent, our representation should be as all-rounded as it can be. A causory look at some of those events meant we would have been placed 2nd overall ...food for though in 2014, Sopot, Poland...

Road to Olympics : 1964 Tokyo Games - Kenya's Coming of Age...

A year after becoming an independent state and also the same year it would be declared a Republic ( free from the British monarchy as it were), the country's fortunes in sport seemed to be coming of age.

But before we get to Kenya's involvement, let's look at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Japan landed Asia's first Olympic Games. Around this time too the Cold War would get to some of its lowest points and this would affect the way the Games were held and both politicians and sports people would use the Games as perfect platforms to push their agendas.

Wilson Kiprugut (left) - http://www.historiatletismo.blogspot.com

Facts:

• 5137 Athletes took part ; a drop due to a ban of countries such as South Africa, Indonesia and North Korea;
• 21 sports and 163 events took place;
• Kenya took part in 5 events - Athletics, Boxing, Hockey, Sailing and Shooting;
• 1 Medal - Bronze by Wilson Kiprugut - Men's 800m - Kenya's only medal at the Games, future medallists though in Kipchoge Keino, Naftali Temu and Philip Waruinge had their fair share of exposure in Japan;
• Kenya's men's field hockey team was placed 6th among the world's 

 Interesting Facts:

• Abebe Bikila from Ethiopia won his 2nd Olympic gold medal in the marathon being the first and so far only man to achieve the feat.
• Joe Frazier - a future profession heavyweight champion would win gold at Tokyo following in the steps of another boxing great Muhammad Ali (formerly Cassius Clay).
• Women's Heptathlon is among the new events of the Games. 
• Computers were used for the first time for keeping results. 
• Improved time-keeping and scoring technologies were used cementing Japan's reconstruction and future tech-power.
• For athletics it was also the last time the Games were run on cinder track and also fibre-glass for pole vaulters. 

These Games would begin Kenya's rich legacy in athletics for all the games it would participate it. 

Sources: Wikipedia

Kenya Basketball Federation Elections - Let the will of the People prevail

One of Kenya's lacklustre sports bodies the Kenya Basketball Federation is scheduled to have its elections sometime later this month. Coming from a forgettable tenure will be the current chair one Mr. Paul Otula who doubles up as a principal of a leading national school.
Along with other officials Vice-Chair Henry Shihemi another school administrator, Vitalis Gode and Joseph Amoko, this group of officials have seen a steady decline in the sport since coming into office 4 years ago.
While many of the sports bodies collect this and that accolade at the annual gala awards organised across the country, the Federation has not been able to put forward a show to win any accolade or have a similar award system for its very best.

Poor Show
While some may say that there have been slight improvements thanks to the Friday Night Basketball games, much remains to be seen on how it has improved the players' and indeed the game's lot.
The concept of weekend night games is itself a noble one though KBF has not acted upon it and owned it fully resulting in more entertainment than basketball core values being upheld.
Away from this, the Kenya Premier League which is the highest level of play of the game has not seen any competitiveness and the play-offs have continued to attract the same old teams for the longest time. Also heavy on the toll is the lack of quality sides promoted from lower rungs of the Nairobi Basketball Association ( aptly known as NBA).
Basketball has also not been able to attract any major sponsor be it for the overall league or for some of the tournaments held across the country. While the efforts of its Marketing wing ( which coincidentally works on an ad hoc basis and is not fully empowered by the Federation). In fact one of the largest failings of the current team in office is the lack of commercial foretaste for the game's development.

A lot of attention is played to the high school and universities leagues which are more or less sustained by extra-curricular funds paid by the students attending those institutions, so no plus for revenue for KBF. A lot of talent is wasted here and this could be moved to the clubs and teams playing at the provincial and national leagues.
Affiliations to international bodies such as AIBA, FIBA have not been taken advantage of and this has seen little or no investment in the local game.
Last year's participation of the ladies team at the All-Africa Games was riddled with controversy after some players being dropped and others not being paid their allowances most of which had been released by the GoK. Parliamentary Committee on Sports is currently questioning the Maputo All-Africa Games Kenyan top brass officials on this and other controversies. 

Elections
With the upcoming elections, delegates will need to consider potential officials with the following;

• Commercialisation - for the longest time, we have sung this song about sports not being an amateur thing anymore and the need to commercialise it. Be it through single-sourced sponsors or partnerships with leading corporates, any sport CANNOT and WILL NOT survive without added revenues. Coca-Cola Kenya has made entreaties through the Spriteball tournaments, work something out that will deliver a win-win for both brands.
• Media appreciation - we have seen what the media can do to such sports disciplines as football, rugby and cricket locally. Though not fully exploited, there is marked difference and the games are all the better for it. Cultivate a healthy relationship with the media and you shall live to see the fruits. We have seen the Nigerian Basketball Federation games screened on DSTv, why can't we have the same from Kenya next?
• Full-time officials - no offense to the current officials but if they were full time officials running the sport, there would be more attention paid to it. The comforts of the other jobs make it impossible to deliver on your mandate.
• Revamp the League - while there seems to be a semblance of a National League, the reality is far from it. If you look carefully, 80% of the teams are originally from Nairobi, with 1-2 from Mombasa and one maybe from Kisumu. With the country having 47 counties in the new disposition, change the lower rung leagues to have teams from at least half of these counties which would then qualify for the national league.
• Better Use of Affiliation - it saddens to hear that one of African Basketball officials is a Kenyan yet we have not enjoyed much from the continental front. While it may not be his mandate to favour where he comes from, Kenyan officials can at least make an effort and challenge them to engage with the sport here.  Same goes for FIBA.

Another concern is the use of delegates' method. This is one of Kenya's and indeed many a sports bodies weakness in electing top officials. We all know of how the delegates are put up in some nice location and 'gifts' exchanged before the D-day when they go to rubber-stump the 'chosen ones'. We hope this is not the case and that the will of the people who love and dedicate their efforts to the growth of the game.

{Disclaimer: While we may have named the top officials in this post, our task is not to abuse or seek to tarnish their person in any way. The critique is purely on their mandate for the game of basketball in Kenya}

Gor Mahia sacks entire technical team

After a dismal start to the 2012 Kenya Premier League season as well as poor show in the continental challenge, Gor Mahia executive board has sacked the entire technical team led by Cameroon-born Anaba Awono.
Taking over (on an interim basis) will be former Kenyan international Bobby Ogolla who has coached a couple of Kenyan sides including World Hope FC, assistant coach - Sofapaka and also Kenyan national team.
Gor Mahia whose fan-base is one of the largest in the country may have contributed to the speedy sacking as the top officials seek to rescue a season which already gone awry in 3 games played thus far. They also lost the season's curtain-raiser to Tusker in the SuperSport DSTv Cup.
Of urgency now will be to see if they can salvage a win against Mozambique's Ferraviaro in the CAF Cup qualifiers needing a 4-goal outright win. There's also the Super 8 Cup matches coming up later this week with their first game pitting them against arch-rivals AFC Leopards who're on a winning streak thus far.
A word to might go to the fans who's expectations are way up there and who's conduct has been called to question every so often once they lose a match. Shall they rise from the ashes like the Phoenix ? Only time will tell!

Sepp Blatter & FIFA retinue to visit Kenya ( East Africa) soon

With Federation of Kenya Football having conducted a relatively smooth election to merge Football Kenya with Kenya Football Federation, FIFA powers that-be had to acknowledge the legitimacy of the new office holders. The new chair, mercurial Sam Nyamweya  managed to hold audience with FIFA President Sepp Blatter in November 2011 a few days after the elections and the latter promised to make good the new office's endorsement by paying a visit to the region with Kenya being part of the circuit visit.

FIFA Pres. Sepp Blatter - image courtesy of http://dadoubd.canalblog.com/

Work on another of the sites for the FIFA Goal Projects is said to start soon in the lakeside town of Kisumu. So while FIFA prepares another whistle-stop trip around Eastern Africa, we thought of a few things they ought to consider as they throw in some sun-bathing lotion, safari/khaki trousers and designer sun-glasses;
1. FIFA Goal Project in Kenya - though this has been touted as one of the biggest FIFA projects to get football from lower levels and under-priviledged areas, in Kenya we are well below expectations. Initial work at the Kasarani Sports Centre stalled and though there is commitment from the Government to continue with the project, FKF officials have not put any structures in place to ensure the same doesn't happen in future.

2. Non-partisanship  - in the past, FIFA honchos have been seen to take sides when any sort of crisis plagues the local game. This has seen the local football scene deteriorate considerably over the past 15 or so years. It doesn't help that your organisation broods no interference or nonsense from national Governments but that doesn't mean that the game should be sacrificed for a few ego bruises.

3. Women's Football - while the Kenyan male counter-part has had a warm-cold representation at international circles, the women's game seems to be spurred by some form of inspiration and is fast taking root among Kenyan urban poor. Does your office have any developmental agenda for their game? They just might be what Kenyan football needs to spur it to international fame.

Image courtesy of www.picturesdeposit.com

4. Transparency - many analysts have talked and commented about the secrecy that shrouds your books and other financial statements - the jury's still out there on how transparent the overall body is run. This should not be the case for national federations. We've seen too many shady merchants running the game and getting away with it. Don't fault them, they only take orders from above ...

5. Africa's agenda - beyond the voting rights that African states have enjoyed, and yes we (South Africa) did host a World Cup. What's your agenda for African football going forward? Your on-and-off tiffs with CAF top-dog Issa Hayatou have been well documented. Well ours is to hoping that in your last few years of the final term, the game of football can be of great pride to the African citizenry in the near future. Continental sports media house SuperSport has taken the initiative to develop local leagues across many African states, maybe you can take a cue from them. The resources that your organisation enjoys are enourmous and a little bite on the cherry won't hurt will it?

Thus said, we hope that your visit will be worth the while and as we say in Swahili... Karibu Sana!   

Motor-Rallying in Kenya - Motorsport gets Kenyans revving

Motor-rallying in Kenya has been a sport which has had mixed fortunes in the last couple of years. After the bundling out of the Safari Rally from the World Rally Championship circuit from 2003, the country's rallying enthusiasts ( including ourselves) were in denial. It slowly dawned on the sport that there needs to be a review of sorts, the downward spiral is being arrested.

Roar your Engines...image courtesy of www.motorsportkenya.com

The national sports bodies for the sport MotorSport Kenya has had much of their work cut out and has managed to liaise with major corporates to ensure the sport remains relevant to the Kenyan rally fan. Indeed much kudos to the federation in the last two years which have seen Rallies taking place beyond the traditional towns and regions. Through the Kenya National Rallying Championship, this year already non-traditional rallies have seen the national circuit visit centres such as Nyeri and the forthcoming Nakuru rally. This is largely in part to KCB's sponsorship, this year alone standing at KSh. 36 million.
While these efforts are admirable, what remains to be seen as progress in the sport is the reinstatement of the Safari Rally onto the WRC calendar of events. The Rally has been part of the Africa Rally Championship as well as Intercontinental Rally Challenge , the latter from time to time ( its erstwhile Classic version, has been held bi-annual bringing former rally drivers  and enthusiasts back to 'Africa's Rallying home').
A number of conditions have been set out by the FIA which runs the sport internationally. These include;
1. No Night -rallying/Shorter Rally routes - One of the biggest challenges for rallying in Kenya and indeed Africa is the terrain which makes it almost impossible to rally during the day only. It has been tried by having shorter rallies on graded roads with speedy sections in between. Due to this also, Service Centres need be aplenty to help rallying and crew members to work on their cars efficiently.
2. Graded v/s Rough roads - Again the African terrain comes into play this time being the actual infrastructure which makes rallying a joy to watch. Though major works are being carried out on Kenyan roads, there are still many more which make it difficult for WRC teams to bring their expensive machinery here.
3. Tax Rebates - rallying in any country is big money. WRC is even bigger money. With this comes crew, equipment, fuel among many other support services. When the WRC teams left in 2002, part of their concerns were how expensive the Rally had become. Government and relevant authorities need look into this to see how best to entice WRC rally teams back.
4. Title Sponsor - while KCB has continually sponsored the Rally for the last many years, it would be fair to say that the amounts payable can be raised to other world rally levels. Other Kenyan and regional corporations should also look for ways to propping up the main sponsor to ensure success of the event @AccessKenya  @iWayAfrica are but some of the corporates hanging on - the Tobacco ban in sports and advertising did the sport a great disservice
5. Fans & Security - many a times we have seen trouble spots on roads in Kenya even without rallying. The rally machines are not any easier when put on the road. This is a national problem that rallying enthusiasts have to learn and get adopted into sooner rather than than later.

These are but just a few of the conditions that can be addressed to restore this great Rally. But we should not beat ourselves too hard, other popular Rallies have also been knocked out including the Corsica Rally, Cote d'Ivoire, Turkey and other rallies.

In Other News:
While checking on some information about the FIA Board, Surinder Thatthi is listed as a Tanzanian citizen. Could this be the reason the Safari Rally will always find it hard to make it back to the WRC rounds? Just asking...

And1 Live Street Basketball 2012 coming back to Kenya...

For what was a most successful tour in Africa last year, And1 Live Tour featuring some Street Basketball makes a comeback for a bigger and more intensive run across the continent. The Tour has been used by And1 merchandising company to promote the game of basketball for which this brand is heavily associated with.

Let's do the Shuffle - And1 Live Tour 2011 - Image by Jeff Amani

Under the theme ' No Borders, No Boundaries, All Ball' this year's Tour starts in the city of Raleigh , North Carolina on 8th March making its first African stop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 15th April. Kenya has the priviledge of hosting it in 2 cities, Nairobi and Mombasa on 25th and 26th of April respectively.
As we said last year, this form of game provides Kenya Basketball Federation a perfect pitch and curtain-raiser for enhancing basketball's growth within the urban folk in major Kenyan towns. Last year most of the top officials gave the Tour a miss, wonder what happens this year. Well, basketball fans didn't disappoint and they came one and all to cheer this entertaining form of the game.
 We shall track the updates and post them as they come.

Rangers Football Club to Disband...

It's never good to hear of budding talent and promising institutions close shop and this one on Rangers United Football Club isn't either. This club had lots of promise going into the 2011/12 season having come in as one of 3 promoted sides from the country's Nationwide League.

Oh no....

But their success was tempered by their then sponsors Postal Corporation of Kenya ( a most notorious Corporation for building sports teams and players only to bail out on them at the hour of need, check the hockey and volleyball ladies teams).
Their last season was a tough one for the team surviving on handouts even as its officials went round the corporate world with an enviable record and promising start to the season. This was short-lived with the team barely scraping through to avoid relegation.According to Press reports, the current Football Kenya Federation, Sam Nyamweya is rumoured to have bankrolled the club's salaries and wages to players and management. (Unconfirmed sources also tell us that the team had secured a corporate sponsor who had agreed to part with about KSh. 30 million and which they offered 10% of last season to help the team secure their place in the Premier League...)
Its chairman Yobes Ondieki Ongeri is reported to have given up on securing financial support hence throwing the gauntlet on the team's hopes.
Of urgency is how KPL will address the issue to ensure either the club receives emergency funds to be able to make it through the league or seek alternative representation since the fixtures including Rangers had already been scheduled.

It also calls to enquiry the financial health of other clubs which might have similar if not worse ramifications. Last year at least a 1/3 of the League's teams had this or that issue with players' salaries, lack of transport to honour fixtures and management wages. What happens to the SuperSport TV revenues pledged? What measures do Kenyan football clubs have to ensure longevity and survival of their clubs? Is the success of a few clubs blinding us to see what is the real situation on Kenyan club football? 

Your work is cut out for you, KPL honchos!

Kenya v/s Togo :- Harambee Stars & Football Kenya Federation; who's fooling who?

Togo is in town and Kenya's national team is still not stable to the extent of playing their hearts out. In an earlier post this year, Can Kenya find its place in 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, we gave albeit brief notes of what it would take to ensure we're on track to qualifying for the biggest tournament on the continent. Maybe we weren't clear enough;

1. Technical Bench - the national coach and his team are still without contracts and there seems to be a perception that since there are not many fixtures within the year, the Federation can get away with appointing an active team manager from the Kenya Premier League to hold forte for the time being. WRONG! As we witnessed last year, dividing time for national and club assignments becomes very tricky when those fixtures fall close to each other. What's more, preparing a national team is usually the sum of many clubs' teams so the national coach ought to have travelled and watched his players enough times to warrant their selection to the national team. In the same breadth, sought out the pay issues and remunerate the bench accordingly.

2. Club versus National appearances - while the technical bench will insist on a player having been active at least for the last 3 months before a national team game, it is ought to help when the players have had a semblance of residential training together for at least 5 days. FKF has been trying but not hard enough and as if that is not enough, they have not been facilitating the travel arrangements of national team players especially those from abroad. Why wouldn't it be resolved each at a time instead of waiting for scenarios of players refusing to report for national duty thanks to unpaid allowances and refunds?

3. Harambee Stars Management Board - since most of the officials who were on the Board seem to be hoping to run for this or that public office, it is only fair that the Board is disbanded and a new team reconstituted. It would also be good for fair share of representation for both ladies and youth percentile in future.

4. Stadium and hosting facilities - the renovation at Kasarani sports complex is taking way too long. While we have enjoyed easy access at the Nyayo National Stadium, the venue's still in need of better facilities for parking, warm-up for teams playing and general security as well as capacity-wise. On this one, FKF its beyond your call but you can hasten the work by Sports Stadia Management Board.

As you address this, let's all meet at the Nyayo National Stadium at 1700hours to cheer on our boys against Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor as they start the long journey to South Africa's 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.


Probable Squads:
Togo (nickname The Sparrow Hawks)
Goal-keeper: Mawugbe Atsou  Defenders: Dare Nibombe, Senah Mango, Abdoul Gafar Mamah, Serge Akapko; Midfielders: Komlan Amewou, Alaiyxis Romao, Floyd Ayite and Razak Boukari, Strikers: Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor, Serge Gakpe

Kenya (nickname Harambee Stars)
Goalkeeper: Duncan Ochieng Defenders: Eric Masika, James Situma, Brian Mandela, Pascal Ochieng Midfielders: Victor Mugubi, Jamal Mohammed, Titus Mulama and Humphrey Mieno Strikers: Dennis Oliech, Allan Wanga.

Final Update on Scores: Kenya 2 ( James Situma, Allan Wanga) - Togo 1 ( Razak Boukari)

Road to Olympics : 1960 Rome Games - Kenya's Second Appearance

Kenya’s slowly cements her place in Olympic History

1960 – Rome Olympic Games

Starting with the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome- Italy, Kenya inched closer to making statements at the Summer Games. This was under 4 years to the country’s independence and the local populace was rising to national patriotism to see that the country gets its place in the family of states across the world. By the next Games, the country will have talent that's matured and taking the world by storm.

1960 Olympic Games

Globally the world was slowly coming to the realisation of the need for a new world order as the ‘wind of change’ swept across the African continent with colonies earning their new found independence.

Politically and economically there were few controversies and crisis which meant the Games proceeded with no boycotts for the first time in a long while.

Facts:

• 83 countries took part ( though they would have been 84 had Surinam’s sole athlete not withdrawn)
• 5350 participants, a swell by over 2000 from the 1956 Games (4738 men & 612 women);
• Kenya participated in 4 sporting disciplines, 13 events once again – athletics, hockey, sailing and shooting
• 27 participants from Kenya all men.
• Dismal show with only Nyandoro Maiyoro making it to 5000m final to place 6^th

This would be the last time that Kenya NEVER won a single medal in the Olympics. 

Interesting Facts:

• One of Kenya's budding talents in Athletics in Kenya, Seraphino Antao was one of the participants but didn't quite make a mark. 
• Abebe Bikila announced Ethiopia's & indeed Eastern Africa's entry into Olympic mythology by winning the marathon  barefoot.
• One Cassius Marcellus Clay, later to be known Muhammad Ali wins the light heavyweight title preparing the way for global stage of arguably the world's biggest boxing fighter.
• South Africa makes its last appearance in the Games thanks to the adoption of their oppressive regime rule of apartheid.



Cassius Clay ( now Muhammad Ali in 1960 Rome) - image courtesy of www.americanheritage1.com

• TV Broadcasts rights are sold to CBS for screening in the United States, paving the way for what would become lucrative business for the IOC later ( of selling media screening rights).

Other Facts around 1960:

• The Space Race between the US and USSR ( now mainly Russia) started in earnest and would culminate with man on the Moon by the end of the decade.
• US voters brought in charismatic Irish origin John. F. Kennedy - the only Catholic faith US president up until then.
• The Pill was introduced to the masses and much to the relieve of many females especially in the developed world.

• UK Prime Minister Harold McMillan delivers the Wind of Change speech in British colonies of Ghana's and South Africa's Parliament ( funny that the latter state enforced minority rule while the rest of Africa was getting liberated around the same time...)

These Olympic Games would serve as the least controversial of the 1960s decade which was riddled with all sorts of cultural evolutions, revolutions in countries and continents as well as major economic and political challenges that would in turn interfere with sport. 

Top 5 Kenya's Football Clubs Social Media Ranking

Over the last week, there was a survey being conducted on Kenya's listed companies and their use of social media. Along the same lines, we had a discussion with a pal about Kenyan sporting scene and the lack or minimal use of the social media space. While social media has exploded onto the scene in the last 3-5 years, local sports organisations and clubs are yet to realise the potent that this platform has.
A quick survey on online presence, visibility and regular updates and information regarding the clubs' activities leaves a lot to be desired. Kenyan social media enthusiasts take up your roles and make this year a winning one for Kenyan sport on social media.

Tweep, can we play ball? image courtesy of www.flickr.com

This ranking was done on Facebook and Twitter which are the biggest social media platforms currently. Our non-scientific survey is based on clubs' official pages, fan pages and 'likes' as well as official Twitter handles (or pages) and fans too. Since most clubs do not have an official page and even when they do, there are other duplicated ones, we shall aggregate each of these to the nearest 100th person/like( NB: These was as of 17th February 2012 based on Internet findings);

1. Gor Mahia - An estimated 59,500 Likes on various Facebook pages. These range from official pages to fan pages to others like 'Gor Mahia is not a club, its a lifestyle, but do we say?' Their web-page's www.gormahia.net - this site aggregates info on the club from other news sites and is quite basic. No links to Facebook or Twitter accounts. There are 3 Twitter pages linked to Gor Mahia @GOR_MAHIA - 108 followers, @Gor_MahiaFC - 99 followers and @Onegreenfamily - 289 followers bringing total to 596 followers. 
2. AFC Leopards - An estimated 18,300 Likes on various Facebook pages also has wide range such as ' AFC Leopards Facebook Branch'. The club has a website www.afcleopards.net which is quite interactive. The site has a link to the Facebook and Twitter accounts and also has YouTube channel linked to SmartTV which went burst a few weeks ago. The club also has 4 different Twitter handles @afcleopards_SC - 316 followers, @afcleopards - 272 followers, @ingweleopards (fans page) - 628 followers and @AFC_Leopards - 43 followers totalling 1259 followers. 
3. Sofapaka FC - with an estimated 5,100 Likes on Facebook pages, batoto ba Mungu's football club is 3rd most visible club on social media. The club's website www.sofapaka.com is also quite well-done and frequently updated. It also has Twitter page @SOFAPAKA with 98 followers and another unofficial one @Sofapaka_Kenya with 79 followers - 177 in total
4. Ulinzi Stars FC - is at number 4 of the social media savvy football clubs. It has 2835 Likes on its Facebook page. Its Twitter handle is @UlinziStarsFC with 234 followers. It is without a website despite being one of the biggest clubs in the country and having a wide followership not just in the army ranks but with ordinary football fans.
5. Mathare United FC - carries the top 5 of the football clubs on social media. It has a modest 2800 Likes on Facebook. The club has a website www.mathareunitedFC.co.ke which needs a bit of sprucing to meet the current season's set-up and corporate identity. You can also access their details via www.mysakenya.org which is the parent company under which Mathare United FC was borne. Its Twitter handle @MathareunitedFC has 313 followers.

Do you Like what you see? - Image courtesy of www.facebook.com

Take Outs:

A lot of work needs to be done to these among other clubs which are featuring in the Kenyan Premier League. The League is also rapidly engaging with social media enthusiasts and fans alike and revamped its website at www.kpl.co.ke and also has a Twitter handle @KenyaPremierLg with 1,568 followers & 676 Likes on its Facebook page.

• Constant review and regular updates are a must in social media where as they say, it's not a monologue but an exchange of ideas between the clubs/management and the fans.
• Competitive brand offers can be made every so often to increase visibility and have a sense of ownership to the followers and fans alike - e.g. AFC Leopards did engage some of its fans last season online and even managed to book flight tickets to a local game in Mombasa - brand loyalty anyone?
• Instant feedback on ways to improve the clubs' fortunes - from suggested playmakers to colours of the team, club management can use social media to have fans engage them instantly.
• Sponsorships - many a clubs internationally have had sponsors who are willing to look beyond the usual streams of revenue to engage and entice users. Social media platforms can supplement to such campaigns and ensure sponsors have a wider audience and measurable means of showing success rate of the campaigns.

These are but a few points which Kenyan clubs and sports management specialists can learn from. Finally let's look at the top 5 Football Social Media League as of December 2011;

1. Barcelona-25,359,311 Facebook fans(27,030,540 Likes); 2,316,765 Twitter followers = 25,676,076 fans
2. Real Madrid-22,182,985 Facebook fans( 24,876,778 Likes);2,872,018 Twitter followers = 25,055,003 fans
3. Manchester United-20,269,260 fans (22,598,283 Likes); 102,773 Twitter followers= 20,269,200 fans
4. Arsenal - 8,155,842 fans (8,989,136 Likes); 1,061,636 Twitter followers = 9,217,478 fans
5. Chelsea - 7,885,970 fans (8,704,028 Likes); 501,375 Twitter followers = 8,387,345 fans

This shows you the power of social media. It's free and its waiting for you, just LOG ON & GET GOING! 

Kenyan Club Football - Faltering at many levels

Over the weekend, besides the Kenyan Premier League fixtures, two of Kenya's clubs were representing the country in the continental club championships - Tusker FC at home to Rwanda's Armee Patriotique Rwandese (APR) FC ( first leg of Round 1 of CAF Champions League) while Gor Mahia was away in Maputo Mozambique to Ferroviaro de Maputo. ( first leg of Round 1 CAF Confederations Cup)
Homeboys Tusker could only afford a 0-0 draw which makes their work hard going to Kigali a few days time. Not taking advantage of the home crowd and wasting chances to at least secure a goal will most likely cost the club any continental exposure. They must pray that they can get their skills up and find winning ways in the return match. A scoring draw will safely see them through thanks to an away-goal advantage.

K'Ogalo as Gor Mahia's fondly known to its fans on the other hand saw 3-0 past their own net to Ferroviaro which will require some real inspiration to cancel out and eventually beat to qualify. For the longest time I have said that the team lacks technical skills and this was exposed once again on this game. It must also be remembered that their win last year of FKL's Cup after seeing passage as one of the best losers. That was never resolved & FKL's oversight might cost the country a place on the continent's other major club championship.
Listening to the club chairman's seek to make comparison to last year's Sofapaka's miraculous mauling of Egyptian opposition was stretching it a bit too far. As one may remember, the political and social situation in Egypt was very unstable and still is thus the lack of inspiration for the players and clubs. The Egyptian national team missed the Africa Cup of Nations despite having been reigning champions early this year.
All's not lost though cos as they say 90min is a lifetime in any football game and again, Gor Mahia has one of the largest following in the country and are likely to sermon those strengths to add their 12th man in the return match.
The bonuses promised by their sponsors should also seek to inspire the players - as is expected in an election year, many a politician will seek to support such club exploits if only for some political mileage, take advantage!
We wish both clubs all the best in their respective return matches!

Road to Olympics : Journey from the Past - 1956 Melbourne Games Kenya Debuts

As promised in the last post, we shall start a series of posts tracing our country's journey in Olympics Games since our début in 1956. We shall welcome any comments, views and also critique for us to make worth your while reading. Here we go;

Kenya’s First Appearance in the Olympic Games

Souvenir Programme Cover for 1956 Melbourne Olympics - www.oldreprints.com

The modern Olympic Games had been ongoing for 60 years after the return of the same adopted from the Greek civilisation before Christ. With the world’s nations having recovered from the World War II, there was a feel-good factor going around the world at that time – though the Cold War was starting to threaten world peace with USSR ( Soviet Union) invading Hungary leading to Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland boycotting , while Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon boycotted the Games over the Suez Canal. China also protested Taiwan’s recognition and boycotted too.

LIFE Magazine - Dec 1956 - image courtesy of www.2neatmagazines.com

On the other hand, more African states ( most though still under the colonial rulers mainly British) made their debut including Ethiopia, Liberia, Uganda and of course Kenya. Other seasoned African states in the form of Egypt and South Africa also were at the Melbourne city.

An issue of the northern and southern hemisphere arose threatening major boycotts since the weather in the Southern hemisphere is warmer during the latter part of the year as opposed to traditional mid-year when most Summer Olympic Games are held. There was also the issue of equine quarantine which led to equestrian (horse) events being moved to Stockholm, Sweden.

Interesting Facts:

• 67 countries in total attended the Games
• 3194 participants including 2824 men and 370 women)
• 18 sporting disciplines were competed against ( though all Equestrian events were held in Stockholm)
• 145 events were conducted
• The Games were opened by  His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh – Prince Philip ( since Australia still recognises the British monarchy)
• Kenya had 25 participants in 4 sports disciplines – 24 men and 1 woman. She was represented in the 4 disciplines which included; athletics, hockey, shooting and swimming.

Nyandika Maiyoro - image courtesy of www.gusii.com

Finalists in their respective events included;

-          Nyandika Maiyoro – Athletics  5000m – 7^th place

-          Arap Sam Kanuti – Athletics Marathon – 31^st position

-          Joseph Lerease – High Jump – 18^th position

Fun Fact:

One enthusiast sports fan by the name of Barry Larkin made a fake Olympic torch and apparently managed to fool the mayor of Sydney.

Other Sporting news in the World - 1956:
Rocky Marciano - undisputed heavyweight champion retires from boxing undefeated.