The Shame Of An Empty Kasarani: A Painful Lesson

NAIROBI, Kenya- Last Sunday, the grand stage was set. Three domestic football giants and a team battling to earn recognition as a new force were vying to make the finals of the 2018 SportPesa Shield Cup.

The stakes could not have been higher for the four semi finalists, holders AFC Leopards SC, last year’s beaten finalists Kariobangi Sharks FC, Ulinzi Stars FC and Sofapaka FC.

On offer was the last chance to win a trophy this season, the coveted ticket to represent Kenya at the 2019 CAF Confederations Cup not to mention the winners’ prize of KSh2m, a dream figure in domestic football circles.

The amphitheatre of the country’s sport, a legacy from the 1987 All Africa Games, Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani provided the majestic backdrop to a sizzling day of cup football in what added spice to the proceedings after organisers, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) decided to switch venue from Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos.

While no one could complain against the quality and drama of the football played on the day as Sharks and Sofapaka made the October 20 final after humbling Ulinzi 4-1 and edging Leopards 1-0 in that order, the hopeless sight of a virtually empty stadium put a huge dampener to the occasion.

Another reminder

If anyone needed another reminder of how elite local football has fallen off the collective radar of supporters, the sorry sight of players giving their best surrounded by echoes inside a blank concrete behemoth should serve as a tragic example.

Speaking on Wednesday, FKF President, Nick Mwendwa, recognised there was a problem in attracting fans to local stadiums but assured they were in the process of a lasting solution.

"This is all because of the evolving culture of our fans. We are seeing a situation where our football supporters opt to cheer foreign teams but we hope the situation will improve when our national team starts winning like Stars did against Ghana.

"A winning national team is a good catalyst to bring fans back to our stadiums and as a federation, we are taking measures starting with the Shield final having seen what happened on Sunday," Mwendwa stated.

In the first semi, Eric Kapaito and his teammates ran rings around the Ulinzi defence, only one diehard fan of the soldiers and a handful of Sharks supporters witnessing one of the most ruthless attacking displays in a half of football anywhere as the winners raced to a commanding 3-0 lead.

Ironically, the sprawling Kariobangi estate, home of hundreds of thousands where Sharks call home is less than six kilometres from Kasarani while the Kahawa, Eastleigh, Langata and Westlands military garrisons full of potential Ulinzi fans are all within a 20km radius of the stadium.

Leopards on the other hand, command one of the biggest fan bases with branches spread across the country but the Ingwe faithful, spare for a few rented mini buses, bothered to turn up to urge their team on in their quest to retain the only title they had to fight for after their in-laws and arch enemies Gor Mahia FC stormed to the SportPesa Premier League (SPL) title.

Without their roaring support, Leopards duly crashed out of the competition in a whimper to 2012-cup champions Sofapaka.

The latter stormed Kenyan football by storm in 2009 when they became the first promoted team to win the league title where at the time, the deep pockets of club chairman, Elly Kalekwa, even bought them a sizeable following, complete with a cheering band.

On Sunday, they were nowhere to be seen.

"Our clubs need to play their part in marketing their games to the public as the federation also plays its role. This is a collective effort, our commercial partners also need to come on board," the federation boss noted.  

Sunday's situation was in sharp contrast with the romance cup competitions- where elite and lower division teams get to compete for glory- elicit among football supporters, with England, where the annual FA Cup is a multi-million pound top draw, standing out as the best example.

Simplistic reason

Perhaps the quarterfinal exit of SPL kings Gor at the quarterfinals at the hands of Sharks on September 2 via a 2-4 defeat in a penalty shootout may have contributed to the low turn out but that is a simplistic reason of excusing FKF’s shame.

For Shield organisers, it was a mitigated disaster. The first fixture that started at 1pm local time (+3GMT) saw cawing crows audible enough amid the echoing instructions shouted by the players.

“UaI Ua! Chinja mtu kama ninja (kill them, slaughter them like a commando),” the lone Ulinzi fan shouted himself hoarse on the ‘Russian’ side as he encouraged the soldiers to up their game as they meekly surrendered to a beating, an astonishing sight in itself.

Maybe, fans were attending church but when the next semi kicked off just over two hours later, the 60,000-seater facility still resembled a ghost town.

The Shield semis were a stark irony of May 13 when the venue was filled to the brim when Gor hosted English Championships side, Hull City FC, with more supporters locked out of the arena two hours to kick-off for security reasons.

The low attendance in Shield Cup should be a wakeup call that much more needs to be done to get fans trooping back to the stadium to enjoy local football outside publishing banners on social media.

One shudders to think of the turnout on October 20 when Sharks and Sofapaka will vie for the trophy knowing all too well any big game without Gor and Leopards struggles to attract supporters.

“FKF should do heavy marketing for the domestic cup and games involving national teams as turn-out has completely dipped.

“When you read that 88,000 people bought tickets to attend the FA Cup finals featuring Chelsea versus Manchester United at Wembley in May, then you realise that what we do here is a compete joke,” William Obwaka who steered Gor to victory in Mandela Cup (Winners Cup) in 1987 lamented.

Creating awareness

“Supporters are right there in the estates, the only way FKF can get them to the field is by creating awareness on these competitions.

“Teams also have a role to play in the mobilization, they should ensure they have registered members who can be easily tracked,” Obwaka advised.

Leopards Team Manager, Gilbert Selebwa, is of the opinion that FKF should come up with various incentives that can attract the general public besides football lovers to the yawning local stadiums.

“The annual Masaku Sevens rugby is always well attended because of the way it is packaged by the organisers; FKF should borrow a leaf from them.

“Why was SportPesa Cup, graced by teams from Zanzibar, Kenya and Tanzania, were well attended in Nakuru? FKF needs to borrow a leaf from there.” Selebwa stressed.

"Why shouldn’t FKF come up with a lottery where people can buy tickets to win prizes ahead of the matches?

"The federation should consider hyping the fixtures on all media platforms including print, radio, online, TV, banners and billboards. They could also engage competent firms for public relations and marketing of their products,” he highlighted.

“These activities should be intensified a week to the matches. They can also organize competitions for fans from the opposing sides to create the hype,” Selebwa offered further.

Joel Lule, head coach of Michezo Halisi Sports Academy FC, is of the opinion that the federation and the clubs should engage fans through players.

“For example, Kepha Aswani and Teddy Osok of Sofapaka hail from Makongeni estate, they can be utilized to draw fans from the area to attend the coming finals.

“The goal keeper, Wycliffe Kasaya is from Maringo estate, he can also do the same for supporters in his zone,” Lule suggested.

The tactician, who groomed Harambee Stars and Maritzburg United defender, Brian Mandela, and Harambee Starlets midfield duo of Cheris Avilia and Caroline Anyango, advises FKF to work closely with event organisers with a track record of bringing out the numbers.

“The derby between Gor and AFC always has large attendance because someone somewhere is putting all the effort to promote the fixture,” Lule noted.

No one doubts the appetite of football in Kenya is huge with millions spending a fortune to follow their favourite European teams for example, including funding expensive teams to hallowed theatres such as Old Trafford, The Emirates, Bernabeu and Camp Nou.

Marketing strategy

Leading local clubs have a big share of the blame because just like the governing body, lack a defined marketing strategy to sell themselves to the football diehards and the general public.

Access to simple marketing tools such as replica jerseys and other branded merchandise- authentic or knock offs- is almost impossible, robbing the clubs a key revenue stream and above all, an identity among supporters that is key to giving them a sense of belonging and affection to the team.

In keeping up with modern trends, top local clubs including the four Shield semi finalists have established and regularly update their social media pages.

But aside from paying the pages administrators peanuts, no further investment is made towards tapping the huge potential of the digital space to net local and international following.

A huge contributor to the success of the May 13 international friendly dubbed Hull City in Kenya was not just a call to action for fans to turn up and watch the football but a family fun day with other side events to draw out a cross section of people.

Within the perimeter of the Kasarani, a bevy of activity including activations, music performances, kids attractions and outside catering combined with the football to make the occasion an ideal weekend outing.

Devoid of these family events four days later, Gor played a Confed Cup group game against Algerian giants, USMA Alger to an almost empty venue and last Sunday, the same was repeated.

"We have tried some of these measures in the past. Sometimes it works but sometimes it does not but moving forward, we will work to change the culture of the prevailing culture of our football fans," Mwendwa assured.