Soka Magazine Feb-March 2016

8/19/2019 Soka Magazine Feb-March 2016

1/60

Nick MwendwaNick MwendwaMeet FKF’s new boss

JOHN BARAZA

The legendhangs boots,

what next?

REVEALED

Ten players to

look out for in the KPL this

season

ACAKORO

The incredible

story of the slumboys who beat

Barcelona

G R A B

Y O U R

F R E E C

O P Y

Issue No. 2, Feb - Mar 2016


2/60

8 0 8 0

3 4 5

6

8 0 8 0

3 4 5

6

8 0 8 0

3 4 5

6

events | taxi | ticketing | cashless

Having an event?Rush ticketing technology and flexibility are guaranteed to

help you make more and keep more of your money. No

other provider compares to our customization and pricing.

Rush ProvidesRegistration Forms in Seconds

Mobile Ticketing

Real Time Insights

Tickets For Recurring Events

Multi Event Ticketing

Mobile Experience

Ticket Scanning App


3/60


4/60

Editor’s Note

www.soka.co.ke Jan - Feb 2016

Wednesday 10 November is a day that will never be erased in

the history books of Kenyan football. It is the day Sam

Nyamweya resigned as the Football Kenya Federation (FKF)

President. Many have described this moment as the end of anerror and rightfully so, Kenyan football deteriorated under his

reign and it was the right time for him to quit.

Enter the youthful Nick Mwendwa, who garnered a massive

50 votes out of a possible 77 to clinch the top seat but the

question on many football lovers are asking themselves is if

he is the right man for the job. He has been running Kariobangi Sharks for the last 14 years

and therefore perfectly understands the problems facing the Kenyan game. He will, however

not be judged by his past success but what he does to bring the glory.

Away from the football elections, ACOKORO, a football academy from the vast KorogochoSlums in Nairobi, made history when they beat Barcelona to lift the Donauauen Cup in

Austria. Our Senior Writer Timothy Olobulu visited the academy and has penned down a

detailed story.

On our Star on the Rise section we feature Tusker FC youngster Danson Kago; his incredible

journey from the dusty grounds of Githurai to the top-tier and his plans for the future. Our

writers have also selected 10 top players to watch out for in the 2016 Kenyan Premier

League (KPL) season. And many more detailed articles and reviews.

Finally, I should probably acknowledge that this is my second edition as a Magazine Editor

and I will really therefore appreciate your feedback. Have any thoughts on this issue?

Hit us up on twitter: @Soka_Ke or email: [email protected]

TEAM

EDITOR

Jeff Kinyanjui

Email: [email protected]

Mobile: +254727443540

STAFF WRITERS

Timothy OlobuluDan Ngulu,

Vincent Opiyo

Samuel Gacharira

Zachary Oguda

PUBLISHED BY

Soka Holdings Ltd

P.O Box 50633 – 00100

Nairobi

DESIGN AND LAYOUT

Gabriel Saka

Aces Digital


ADMINISTRATION

Patrick Korir


Mobile: +254700123366

Visit: www.soka.co.ke

Facebook: SokaKenya

Twitter: @Soka_KeInstagram: @Soka_Ke

Additional Photography

SportPicha

www.soka.co.ke

Suite A5, Silverpool Office Suites,

Jabavu Lane, Hurlingham

P.O. BOX 50633 - 00100,

NAIROBI - KENYA.

Tel: +254 770 160 736

+254 727 443 540+254 700 12 33 66 [email protected] www.soka.co.ke SokaKenya @Soka_Ke @Soka_Ke

Jeff Kinyanjui

Editor


5/60

Features


UPFRONT

6: Meet new FKF boss Nick MwendwaEnd of an era as Nick Mwendwa is elected new federation bossKariobangi Sharks Chairman Nick Mwendwa was elected the new

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Chairman after he polled 50 out of

a possible 77 votes in elections held at the Kasarani Annex in the

afternoon of Wednesday 10 February, 2016.

10: Club Profile: The rise of Zoo KerichoFounded in 2009, Zoo Kericho has risen through the ranks to the

second-tier, the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League in

a period of just five years.

13: Koth Biro: What makes the annual tour-

nament tick?When the gates open at the legendary Umeme grounds in Ziwani,

expect total football. Sweat, mud wading and at times bathing in the

dust; teams fight out for the KothBiro title.

18: Jerim Onyango ‘s plans to shift to politicsThe sun is almost setting on Gor Mahia keeper Jerim Onyango’s

career with the experienced custodian announcing he will be going

into politics come 2017.

25: Life after football: Joseph Njunguna’s Half-

way Tree EnterpriseHaving moved to Kenyan Premier League giants Tusker FC at the

start of the 2009 season from Kenya Commercial Bank FC, Joseph

‘Pablo’ Njuguna’s career had taken a trajectory. He had finally

broken into the crème de la crème of Kenyan football but things

took a twist after a horrific injury

27: Why Musa Otieno came back to Kenya

After a cool 311 appearances for Santos FC in the South Africanleague capped with 34 goals, Musa Otieno was promoted to the

coaching department at the club he had faithfully served for 15

years as assistant coach. This is what many would consider

lucrative especially in terms of remuneration where the pay down

South is better compared to Kenya.

32: Top ten players to look out for in the KPL

this seasonWith the 2016 Kenyan Premier League (KPL) season already under-

way, we highlight ten players to look out.

34: What next for John Baraza after

hanging his boots?The soft spoken striker, who has now hanged his boots, is

taking his first steps in management as an assistant coach

at Sofapaka; a club he has served from 2009. He doesn’t

expect us, more so for an interview this early in his career.

38: Jesse Were’s journey to the topThe 26-year-old started his football career at Kibera Talent

Academy under the tutelage of Glyd Aswani up until 2010

when he joined lower tier side Kibera Black Stars scoring 40

goals in 32 games. He later moved to AFC Leopards, then

featuring in the second tier before Mathare United snappedhim up. In his two-year stay at Mathare United (2011 –

2012), then under coach Stanley Okumbi, Jesse settled into

the top-tier quite fast, netting 22 league goals in two

seasons.

42: Coach Profile: Amavubi coach, Jona-

than McKinstry“This is the best a Rwandan team has ever done getting to

the knock out stages of a major tournament. Obviously we

are disappointed because maybe we could have won sincewe had chances to do so, but the bigger picture is we have

done quite well,” McKinstry, with a pale face said, speaking

to Soka.

45: The incredible story of ACAKOROThis is ACAKORO: The story of the football academy from

Korogocho Slums that defied the odds to beat Barcelona

51: Arsenal legend Robert Pires visits

KenyaHe shares his story … highs and the lows his career andwhy he thinks Victor Wanyama should move to Arsenal.

The night of May 17 2006 still remains to date Robert Pires’

worst day in an Arsenal shirt.

56: Star on the rise: Tusker FC's Danson

KagoWhile majority of the Sofapaka players were in celebratory

mood post match, there were mixed reactions from one of

their players on the terraces - Danson Kago.


6/60

FKF elections: Nick Mwendwa it is! The journey to the new office



By Patrick Korir

End of an era as Nick Mwendwa is elected new federation boss

Kariobangi Sharks Chairman Nick Mwendwa was elected the new

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Chairman after he polled 50 out of

a possible 77 votes in elections held at the Kasarani Annex in the

afternoon of Wednesday 10 February, 2016.

Mwendwa become the 14th football boss in Independent Kenya

after taking down his closest challenger Ambrose Rachier who

polled 27 votes.

Mwendwa won the polls by simple majority to end the contest in

just the first round as provided in the constitution.

Change

“I had said for long that we would win this and we did it. We now

have a new federation and the aim is to begin with youth football,

get the national team to prepare adequately for the next game and

also change the people’s attitude on the game,” he said soon after

being declared the boss of Kenyan football.

“The work geared towards changing Kenyan football starts

immediately so everyone should expect change. We want to

improve the economy of the game, we want to take care of the

players’ welfare among many other things and these are things we

must deliver on,” he added.

Ambrose Rachier

Gor Mahia Chairman Ambrose Rachier, who came in second,

congratulated the Institute of Education in Democracy (IED) for

conducting the whole election process in a professional manner.

“What is I saw today was very impressive, a very transparent way

of conducting elections and I must commend the IED for a job well

done,” Rachier told Soka,“I’m in football for the love of it. I will continue serving in my

capacity as the KPL and Gor Mahia Chairman,”

“The work geared towards changing

Kenyan football starts immediately

so everyone should expect change.

We want to improve the economy of

the game, we want to take care ofthe players’ ...,”


7/60



“As far as the KPL is concerned, we

consider ourselves to be working in

partnership with the FKF and that still

stands. We will cooperate with the

federation and hope that they, too,

respect the Memorandums of

Understanding in place and the

regulations that have been set,” he

added.

Ahead of the polls, former football boss

Sam Nyamweya pulled out of the race

just before the exercise kicked off and

received no votes in the exercise as his

name still remained on the ballot.

Sammy Sholei who did not show up atthe polling venue as well as Gor

Semelang’o and Ssemi Aina all polled

zero votes.

Doris Petra - Vice President

In the second time of asking, Doris Petra

Vice President after seeing off Dr. Dan

Shikanda 53 to one votes.

The two as well as former Western Chair

Andrew Amukowa went to the re run after

none attained the simple majority of 40

votes in the first round.

In the first instance, Petra clocked 36 votes

to Amukowa’s 21 as Dr. Dan Shikanda came

in third with 13 votes.

Twaha Mbarak received five votes, Hussein

Terry just one and outgoing VP Robert

Asembo being totally rejected as he

received zero votes.

“I really want to thank Team Change forvoting, thank you, we have done it and we

must live to fulfill our promises. I am happy

to be elected as the first lady to be the vice

president of the federation,” she said after

being announced the winner.” She said right

after being declared the Vice President in

the re-run that was held after all the

counting for the ten seats had been

done.

National Executive Committee Members

In the eight regional Executive positions,

new office bearers came through as six

outgoing officials were defended their

seats were sent packing by delegates.

In Nairobi, Ligi Ndogo bank roller Chris

Doris Petra made

history becoming

the first lady VicePresident after

seeing off Dr. Dan

Shikanda 53 to one

votes.


8/60



Amimo sent Simon Mugo home after

polling 31-12 votes.

In Eastern Anjelin Mwikali failed to

defend her seat by Nabea Murithi who

polled 54 votes against 24.

In Coast outgoing Mohamed Omar Abubaker received 19 votes losing out to

former North Coast Secretary Raphael

Katana Mwalungo who polled 44 votes.

The open Rift Valley seat was won by

sitting Nakuru Member of Parliament

David Gikaria who stopped Ulinzi Stars

Joe Birgen 42 to 23 votes.

The vacant Nyanza seat left open after

Tom Alila called it a day from football

matters was won by Agro Chemicalchair Joseph Andere who polled 54

votes to Charles Onyambu Birundu’s 23.

Outgoing Western boss Elly Mukolwe

received 11 votes to lose his seat to

former Vihiga sub branch chair Enos

Tony Kweya who polled 36 votes.

Inactive George Wainaina of Central

went home with a respectable 27 votes

that was however not enough to givehim a back to beack term in Central as

David Kimani Njoroge took his seat with

polling 47 votes.

A. Mohamed (Mulla Mohamed) had the

most tally – 68 as he floored Said Dahir

Jibril who got four votes to stand out as

the only executive to defend his seat.

Summary of voting

Mwendwa become

the 14th football boss

in Independent Kenya

after taking down his

closest challengerAmbrose Rachier who

polled 27 votes.


9/60



President: Nick Mwendwa (50), Ambrose Rachier (27), Sam

Nyamweya (0), Gor Semelang’o (0), Ssemi Aina (0), Sammy Sholei

(0).

Vice President

First round:

Doris Petra (36), Andrew Amukowa (21), Dr. Dan Shikanda (13),

Twaha Mbaraka (5), Hussein Terry (1), Robert Asembo (0)

Second round: Doris Petra (53), Dr. Dan Shikanda (1), Andrew

Amukowa (0)

National Executive Committee

Nyanza (3) - Joseph Oduor Andere (54), Charles Onyambu

Birundu (23), Philip Soti Owuoti (0)

Rift Valley (6) - Joe Birgen Kipchumba (23), David Gikaria (42),

Joseph Kiptanui Kiptai (4), Benard Isindu Shitiabayi (2), Isaac Kirwa

Leting (0), Moses Kamalik Jemnyango (4)

Nairobi (5) - Chris Amimo Ongondo (31), Erick Stephen Obura

(10), Simon Mugo (12), Jacob Kabanze Odundo (23), KennedyOchieng’ Oliech (0)

North Eastern (2) - A. Mohamed (Mulla Mohamed) (68), Said

Dahir Jibril (4)

Coast (3) - Mohamed Omar Abubaker (19), Raphael Katana

Mwalungo (44), Ricky Solomon Mgalu (13)

Central (2) - David Njoroge Kimani (47), George Wainaina Njogu

(27), three rejected.

Western (4) - Duncan Kizito Namulanda (14), Enos Tony Kweya

(36), Denis Opoki Munyendo (15), Julius Elly Mukolwe (11)

Eastern (2) - Timothy Muriithi Nabea (52), Angeline Mwikali Elijah

(24)

“I really want to thank Team

Change for voting, thank you, we

have done it and we must live to

fulfill our promises. I am happy to

be elected as the first lady to bethe vice president...”


10/60


11/60

“In the 6 years of our existence we have used virtually the same

players and our stability as a team is demonstrated by our success

and the low turnover of players. We have in so doing attracted a

huge fan base and are boastful of being the 3rd largest team in the

country in that regard. The love of our town, Kericho, the love of

football well played and nice to be watched, fair play and ambition

to teach our players to be better people in life are the tenets bywhich this club is admired,” he adds.

Zoo Kericho is more than just a football team and Ken says the

main goal of the team is to change lives in Kericho and its environs

through football.

“Our primary objective is the development of our footballers and

fans welfare. We are also keen in developing our footballers both

at junior and senior level which is demonstrated by the fact that we

have with a bias used the same players since inception six years

ago and allowed them to develop and steer the club to where we

are today,”

Community Development

“We have provided Kericho County with a football programme that

has given our players life lessons and prepared them mentally and

The rise of Zoo Kericho

Kericho has risen through the

ranks to the second-tier, the

Football Kenya Federation (FKF)

Premier League...



12/60

physically. We have also, through our

programmes, enhanced the well being

of our players by providing extra revenue

from their talents and opening up otheropportunities for them through

education by way of football

scholarships to talented youths. Several

of our players have benefited through

this initiative and have completed both

their secondary and college education

as a result while also playing for us,”

“We wish to continue providing a

supportive community based

environment which encourages

education skills development, fitness,

fair play and team work. We have

meticulously executed a 5-year plan that

culminated in our current status. We

started out in 2009 at the District

League with no single fan and have due

to good organisation and hard work

steadily rose up the ladder. Our aim is to

win the top-tier league in the next three

(3) years. Having successfully executed

our initial development plan we are

ble. We are boastful of being the biggest

team in our tier of the league and trust that

in another five (5) years will be the biggest

football team in the country,” he added.

The Green Stadium in Kericho is always full

whenever Zoo is playing and Ken says they

have a very good relationship with the fans

as well as other stakeholders. He is

confident the numbers will rise further in the

near future.

“We have now identified opportunities to

increase the number of our fans and have

put in place strategies to keep the existing

ones. This proves we are in this for the long

term,” he said.

“Our fan base is cosmopolitan and is

drawn from the wider South Rift Region

most of whom work in the tea estates.

We registered the Kericho Zoo FC FanGroup as a means by which our fans can

also take part in the daily affairs of the

team,”

“The key to our success is the

relationships we have developed in the

local community. We have very good

relationship with local tea estates,

County Government, police and local

business enterprises,”

“We have developed even stronger

relationships with them over the years

due to our success, reliability and

trustworthiness and the end result has

been increase in fan base, merchandise

sales, donations and facility

development,”

“Our club is all inclusive and welcoming

to all groups and communities. We have

deliberately adopted strategies that

influence behavior of our officials,players and fans and whoever else

represents our club. To avoid negative

behaviour that reflect badly on our club,

we have recruited stewards who are

regularly trained on crowd control. Our

home matches have also become family

outings where our fans come with their

kids,” he added.

The KPL dream

With the imminent change in the footballleadership in the country, Ken is hopeful

that the team will play the remaining

matches of the FKFPL league and qualify

to the Kenyan Premier League (KPL).

“We are very close to achieving our

dream of playing in the top-tier league

and I’m confident we will do well. This

current crop of players has been

together for a very long time and will

surprise many. We are ready for the bigtest,” he concludes.

The rise of Zoo Kericho

“Our fan base is

cosmopolitan and is

drawn from the widerSouth Rift..



13/60

Koth Biro

Koth Biro

By Timothy Olobulu

Grassroots

Football: What

makes the

Annual Koth

Biro

Tournament

so attractive?

When the gates open at thelegendary Umeme grounds in

Ziwani, expect total football.

Sweat, mud wading and at

times bathing in the dust;

teams fight out for the Koth

Biro title. It is an annual

off-season tournament that

has grown in stature from 39

years back. This year’s

tournament that culminated on

January 10th was testimonythat the tournament has lived

attract local fans but thosefrom yonder as well.

Kaloleni’s A1000 Street

defended their title after a

swanky 3-0 win over Pumwani

All Stars. A1000 had won the

tournament in the 2014/2015

season, in a more strenuous

1-0 win over local team Nyoi

FC but this year their fight to

the title was merely a walk. Outof 48 teams that registered for

the tournament, they

emerged the cream of

them all.

The Annual Koth-Biro

football tournament was

first held in 1978 to

nurture new footballing

talent and pool them

against established

footballers and also as an

advocacy tool to bring theyouths together to



14/60

address social and economic issues. The

name ‘Koth Biro’ in Luo translates to ‘the

rain is coming.’ The tournament was

given this name as it was played mostly

in November/December during the rainy

season.

Throughout the years the tournament

has metamorphosed to be the bedrock

of Kenyan football as it brought together

hundreds of teams, thousands of

footballers and tens of thousands of fans

from different corners of Nairobi and its

environs together.

When it started, close to four decades

ago, its main aim was to bring togetherdifferent teams from Ziwani during the

holidays to play together and have fun.

But as years progressed, the tournament

gained momentum and soon teams from

neighbouring estates requested to take

part.

The tournament is usually played in

November-January when all leagues in the

country are on off-season thus enables the

country’s top stars to participate in the

football fete. This has given the tournamenta major profile as young upcoming

footballers relish the opportunity to play with

or against the crème de la crème of Kenyan

football.

Coaches and scouts from various clubs

have also used the opportunity to get

players for their clubs from these

tournaments.

Big names

Among the famous names who have

been moulded by this tournament

include former Gor Mahia man Dr.

William Obwaka, John Bobby Ogola,Jack Oguda (Current Kenya Premier

League CEO), Peter Kenneth (2013

Presidential aspirant), Tusker Coach

Francis Kimanzi, Musa Otieno, Dr. Dan

Shikanda, Jamal Mohammed, Dennis

Oliech, Mc Donald Mariga, Iddi Otieno,

Victor Wanyama, Humprey Mieno, Martin

Musalia, Eugene Asike, and hundreds of

others.

Koth Biro


"...I came to this

tournament largely

unknown but afterthat got a chance in

the premier league” Arnold Origi - Harambee Stars Keeper


15/60

One of the most recent players to have jumped onto a top flight

chance from the publicity of the Koth Biro tournament is Mathare

United youngstar Erick Mata. In 2014, Mata starred for A1000

Street and was their top scorer in the campaign to win the title. At

the beginning of the 2015 season, he was signed by MathareUnited.

“I think this is a very good opportunity for young players who have

never gotten an opportunity at big clubs to show what they can do.

Playing alongside the experienced players and beating them adds

a lot of confidence. I remember I came to this tournament largely

unknown but after that got a chance in the premier league,” Mata

told Soka Magazine.

Arnold Origi

Harambee Stars custodian Arnold Origi, currently playing inNorway’s top tier is one of the players who have featured in the

Koth Biro


In 2014, Mata starred for A1000

Street and was their top scorer in

the campaign to win the title. At

the beginning of the 2015 season,

he was signed by Mathare United.


16/60

tournament before. He reckons it is a

great platform for players to really show

what they got and for the younger ones

to meet their role models.

“Many of these players watch the big

stars on TV and Koth Biro gives them an

opportunity to come down meet them,

and play with them. For a player, if you

beat a team that has your role model,

there is so much a lift it gives you,” Origi

narrated to Soka Magazine.

“Personally when I was playing, I would

look forward to the big games and when

I made a save from a top player, I felt sogood about myself. It helped build my

confidence,” added the shot stopper.

One of the arguments that permeated

through to the competition this year was

whether a team should be capped on

the number of top flight players it was

allowed to have. Former Kenyan interna-

tional, George Sunguti, currently coaching

Nairobi City Council FC, is of the opinion the

tournament should be strictly for young

players to show their worth.

Cap on experienced players

“This is the only time these young boys can

get in and prove what they are made of in

front of coaches and talent scouts. It should

not be a top flight affair with a team having

nearly 90% of the squad with KPL players,”

Sunguti said.

Robert Ochollah, one of the organizers of

the event however does not bear the same

sentiments.

“The essence of this tournament actually is

to bring people together, footballers from all

walks of life and all leagues should come in

and learn from each other. Otherwise if we

start capping then the taste of the whole

tournament is withered down,” he added.

Tusker FC midfielder Brian Osumba who

was one of the pivotal players for A1000

Street in this year’s campaign bears the

same sentiments.

“For us, premier league players, this is

an opportunity to help the younger

players develop by sharing your

experiences, giving them confidence

when we play alongside them. For any

footballer, it is very important,” The

Koth Biro


“The essence of this

tournament actually isto bring people togeth-

er, footballers from all

walks of life ...”Robert Ochollah: Organizer


17/60

New Ushuru FC keeper Shabaan Odhoji

who turned out for Dandora based

Piureto also bore same sentiments, also

saying it is an opportunity for him to give

back to the community;

“This is the same team that gave me a

chance to play football and now that I

have grown to premier league level, I

need to give back to them. Coming back

here is also an encouragement to the

young upcoming players that they can

do it,” he added.

Social campaigns

Apart from football, due to the greatmedia publicity and the thousands of

people who participate in the

tournament directly or indirectly, the

tournament is also used as a campaign

platform for various social initiatives

such as Crime and Violent Extremism

prevention, Drug and illicit alcohol

abuse.

It is an opportune time to sensitize the

community on such as the tournamentfalls during the school holidays.

“This year’s tournament was a huge

success. The level of competition was

very high and the sponsorship we got

was hugely improved from the other

years. Next edition we will strive to do

better and raise the standards,” Ochollah

added.

Articial turf

But soon, the mud wading might be a

thing of the past as Maina Kamanda, the

area MP has promised to lay an artificial

turf on the Umeme Grounds in time for

the next tournament. But whether this is

a pure political statement or a promise,

there are better days for Koth Biro.

Koth Biro


Maina Kamanda, the area MP has promised to

lay an artificial turf on the Umeme Grounds in

time for the next tournament.


18/60

Jerim Onyango’s journey to the top


By Dan Ngulu

The sun is almost setting on Gor Mahia keeper Jerim Onyango’s

career with the experienced custodian announcing he will be going

into politics come 2017.

The name Jerim Onyango is synonymous to safe hands, going by

his contribution to Gor Mahia’s success in the past few years.

Back in his home area, there are three names that the people hold

dear: former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, KPL champions GorMahia and Jerim Onyango, in that order. Down there he is known

by the name King Jerry and ranks high in an area that has also

produced established players like Tusker FC’s Duncan Ochieng,

Chemelil Sugar FC’s Samuel Abawa Odhiambo, former Ulinzi Stars

midfielder Lawrence Owino and AFC Leopards’ Duncan Otieno,

just to mention a few.

What started as a childhood hobby back in the village in Nyasanda,

Ugunja, in Siaya County has become a part of life for the keeperand sheer hard work and sacrifice has seen him rise to the point

most Kenyan footballers could only wish to reach.

His career did not just take off, it was a journey of setbacks and

various attempts until he got it right.

The award winning keeper says he had the passion for football,

and specifically goalkeeping very early in his life, and started off at

Nyasanda FC at seven years before joining Kibera based Recimian-

to FC as a 12 year old.

He definitely found there senior members of the team and discour-

agement from them was the order unti l he got the chance to prove


The name Jerim Onyango is

synonymous to safe hands, going

by his contribution to Gor Mahia’s

success in the past few years.



19/60


himself when he was named as the

keeper in a few matches, for which he is

thankful to two of his early coaches –

the current Gor Mahia Youth coach

Maurice Onyango and Amani Kiberafounding member Ben Ooko.

“It was not easy getting to the Recimian-

to team as a 12 year old. I got demoral-

ized a bit by comments from a few

senior members of the team but I never

gave up. Coach Onyi (Maurice Onyango)

and Ben were very supportive at that

point.

“I managed to get a few games and I

gave my best, the coaches wereimpressed and I knew at the point that I

just needed to work hard and keep my

feet on the ground. I was with Rescimian-

to for long and I gained a lot,” he said.

The big break for Jerim came after a

friendly match against KRA FC (the

current Ushuru FC), when given a

starting berth between the sticks.

Ushuru coach Ken Kenyatta, a goalkeep-

er in his heyday, was impressed andcalled him for trials.

He did not make the cut from the trials

but he never gave up and on the second

attempt he was handed a deal.

“In my time at Recimianto, I got a

chance to feature in a friendly match

against KRA and I impressed. Kenyatta

then called me for trials after the match

but unfortunately I did not make the cut

but he spared a lot of time to speak with

me and to try and encourage me not to

give up.

“We had another chance to play against

KRA in a second friendly match

afterwards and once again Kenyatta

spotted me. This time he handed me a

deal after successful trials. I have never

looked back and I want to really appreci-

ate him for that chance because it

opened up the doors for me,” he sayswith a distant reflection.

Jerim’s leadership credentials are not in

doubt. Kenyatta was the first to spot that

and handed him the captaincy. His ambitionthen being to see KRA get promoted to the

premier league though it never came to

fruition during his time there.

“Kenyatta thought I was a good leader

and handed me the armband. At thatpoint my ambition was to help KRA get

to the top flight but we missed by a

whisker in the two seasons I served the

team,” he notes.

Jerim knows too well that to be at the

top, you need to not only hard work but

also have a few people in the right

places to help. His helper was coach

Kenyatta, who gave him the platform

and it is through a chance granted bythe coach that Jerim got the chance to

play for Gor Mahia.

Ken Kenyatta

“Coach Kenyatta used to trust me a lot

and it is by this trust that he made me

spotted by Gor Mahia. He named me in

the team to face Gor Mahia in a

President’s Cup clash in 2007 and we

went on to play to a barren draw at City

Stadium.

“Based on my performance in the game,

Gor Mahia opened talks and signed me

in 2008,” he said.

The upward trajectory for the soft-spo-

ken keeper, always meant he had to get

a new challenge but getting comfortable

has never been part of him. He met

Jacktone Odhiambo (currently at Ulinzi

Stars) and the late Peter Odundo and he

knew to be the first choice, his work was

well cut out.

He is not the one to fear challenges and

he took this on and soon after, rose to

second choice keeper, behind Jacktone.

Six months after Jerim joined Gor

Mahia, Ulinzi Stars moved for Jacktone

and Jerim got his debut, coincidentally,

in a game against Ulinzi Stars in Nakuru

which Gor Mahia went on to lose 0 – 1.

From that point, up until the moment

Jerim’s leadership

credentials are not in

doubt. Kenyatta was thefirst to spot that and

handed him the

captaincy



20/60


Boniface Oluoch joined Gor

Mahia from Tusker, Jerim

was the first choice keeper

at the team. In 2010 he

was named the skipper andhas won a number of

individual and team awards

though he ranks team

awards higher than his

own.

“For a goalkeeper, consistency

is key. When I got the chance I

knew I had to give 101% and I

did just that. I was named the

captain in 2010 and thatmotivated me even more

.

“Through hard work, and trust

from good coaches like Charles

Omondi Korea, Iddi Salim and

Zedekiah Otieno, I managed to

win titles with Gor Mahia and

as an individual but I will

always rank the team awards

higher than individual awards.

“To have helped the team win

the league title in 2013 after an

18 – year drought was of

course a great feeling that I will

always cherish,” he notes

with a smile.

Heading to the future,

Jerim may still be with usfor a season or two as he

shifts focus to other areas

but with the 2016 season

fast approaching, he will

once again be competing

for a place in the team with

Boniface Oluoch and newly

signed duo of Gradus

Ochieng and Sammy

Okinda.

He says he will be there to

fight for his place but still

play a role in ensuring the

team does well.

“I appreciate Bonny

(Boniface Oluoch) for his

contribution to the team in

2015. They say keepers

win titles for teams and

truly the titles we won, I’d

say Bonny had a great

impact in the season.

“Come 2016, I will still be

at Gor Mahia ready to fight

for my place and also serve

the team in whatever

capacity to ensure we do

well,” he notes.

Jerim Onyango Tourna-

ment

For a career that has seen

him make a name for

himself and earn a place

among the country’s top

keepers, Jerim is not

keeping all the gains for

himself. He is now a brand

and is giving back to the

community with the annual

Jerim Onyango Tourna-ment.



21/60

The tournament will get to the fourth edition in 2016 and having

risen from such tournaments, his hope is to see a lot of talented

youths spotted and picked for top leagues.

“I know I have a responsibility to my nation but as they say, charity

begins at home; with the tournament, my ambition is to get youths

engaged in something beneficial and to expose them to top clubs

so they can get a career out of their talents.

“We have seen a number of good players in the three editions so

far and I want to call on clubs to come over and witness what we

have,” he adds.

Jerim runs the tournament from his own savings and contributions

from friends and he admits that the future of the tournament is

good, with the three editions having set the foundation. His aim is

to create a team from the tournament to play in the nationalleagues and also register for the GOtv Shield.

“Running such a tournament is not easy with the logistics involved

as well as fundraising but I know this is something I have to do for

my people. We have set the foundation with the opening three

editions and the future for us is good,”

“I want us to get an all – star team from this tournament and

register it for the national leagues as well as the GOtv Shield.

These are targets I believe we can achieve and on that I want to

thank SuperSport, through their GOtv brand for being very support-

ive so far in the three editions.

“I’d also like to call on other corporate entities to come and take

advantage of the tournament’s visibility to pitch their products

while at the same time helping nurture talent,” he stated.

When the call for the 2017 national elections is made by the

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Jerim’s

name will be on the ballot as the aspirant for the Member of County

Assembly (MCA) for Ugunja Ward.

After proving his leadership skills at Gor Mahia, he wants to

quench his people’s quest for good and visionary leadership, with

his motto being: Putting People First.




22/60

Man down, can a team prepare for a red card?


By Daniel Ndirangu

Ken Ashton was a confused man. In his

own words, he had been reduced to "an

umpire supervising military maneuvers".

He was no stranger to armed conflict

though having served in the Second

World War as a Lieutenant-Colonel in

Asia. So what was the issue then? To put

it simply, he was supposed to be

refereeing a football match. Dubbed

'The Battle of Santiago', Chile vs Italy

going to be an explosive affair in this 1962World Cup clash. The media build up to the

game did not help things either. Accusations

and counter accusations dominated the

headlines. In fact on matchday itself,

football was no longer the issue at hand. At

the end of the day, Ashton had sent off two

Italians and the home side Chile won 2-0.

After refereeing in the FA Cup final and

retiring, Ashton was recalled by FIFA to be a

member of the Referees' Committee.Drawing on his past experience, the

controversy on who between the

brothers Jack and Bobby Charlton had

been booked (both had been booked

actually) and the controversial sending

off of Argentina captain Rattin at the

1966 World Cup, Ken Ashton was

inspired to make a lasting solution. You

see back then in those days, bookings

and sending offs were a verbal affair;

there were no red and yellow cards. Soafter a moment of revelation at a traffic

light, red and yellow cards conceived by

Ken Ashton. After much debating and

haggling, they were accepted and used

officially for the first time at the FIFA

1970 World Cup. Ken Ashton sadly

passed away in October 2001 but he

was immortalized in his contribution to

the introduction of yellow and red cards.

This is how the cards work for those who

have no idea. A yellow card is a warning. A red card means you have to leave the

field of play. Two yellows equal a red.

Simple enough.

I will address the red card, the more

serious of the cards, which leads to a

team being a man or two down. What is

the psychological effect on the players

who find themselves one man down,

what is its effect on a football match and

finally can we prepare for such a

scenario? These are questions I will

attempt to answer.

To help me do so I will use two games to

illustrate my point. The first one is

Arsenal vs Bayern Munich's Champions

League last 16 tie on 19th February

2014. The second game is Barcelona vs

Chelsea's Champions League semi-final

on 24th April 2012. As you may be

aware, Arsenal were a man down due to

a rush of blood to Woljiech Szcesnsny'shead while Chelsea were a man down


I will address the red card, the more serious of

the cards, which leads to a team being a man

or two down. What is the psychological effect

on the players who find themselves one man

down, what is its effect on a football match and

finally can we prepare for such a scenario?


23/60


after Alexis Sanchez's

acting convinced Cuynet

Cakir to send John Terry off.

NB : There are others waysin which teams may find

themselves numerically

disadvantaged but these

will be discussed in

subsequent articles.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL

EFFECT

In theory, one of two things

can happen. A red card can

either raise your game or

destroy your game. Lets

take the Arsenal game for

instance. Arsenal

approached that game with

an attacking attitude that

was last seen when Man

City catastrophically tried to

attack Barcelona. In terms

of technique and

p s y c h o l o g i c a l

preparedness, Arsenal

seemed on top. Two thingshowever turned the game

on its head. The first minor

turning point was Mesut

Ozil's lackadaisical attempt

at a penalty. Football has

not seen such a poor

attempt since. The major

turning point though was

the sending off of Szcezsny.

Although Alaba missed the

subsequent penalty, Bayernwere visibly buoyed. Muller

and the peerless Toni Kroos

scored to take it to 2-0. The

away game ended 1-1 and

Arsenal were out.

The same trend was

observed when Tusker went

down to 10 men last season

vs Gor Mahia. Prior to

Alwang'a being sent to theshowers, Tusker were a goal

up thanks to Kevin Kimani.

ran out 2-1 winners thanks to

Michael Olunga. So what

exactly happened? Going back

to the Arsenal case, they were

simply overwhelmed by going

down to 10 men.

Psychologically they couldnt

come to terms and this showed

in their work rate. Also, being

down to 10 men meant that the

crowd was on the players

backs hence increasing the

pressure on the players. Shortly

we will look at a few ideas on

how they would have reacted

and adjusted.

THE EFFECT OF A RED CARD

ON THE OUTCOME

All of us have found

themselves shouting at one

point or the other "Red card

referee!!" when watching afootball match. The notion out

an advantage and this equals a

win. This however, is not the

case.

Lets take a look at our second

case study of the day.

Barcelona vs Chelsea at the

Camp Nou. Now for those of

you who are not familiar with

the Nou Camp, it is one of the

most daunting stadiums in

world football. With a capacity

of 99, 354, it is three times the

whole population of Eibar for

example. So with Barcelona

chasing a one goal deficit, the

crowd were at their boisterous

best. A few minutes in, Alexis

Sanchez drops to the ground

like a man hit by a grenade.

The referee brandishes a red

card. All Chelsea supporters

look on in disbelief while crying

foul. Replays however showedthat John Terry actually barges

Sanchez on the back a little.


The same

trend was

observed

when Tusker

went down to

10 men last

season vs GorMahia. Prior

to Alwang'a

being sent to

the showers,

Tusker were a

goal up

thanks toKevin Kimani


24/60


Not enough contact though you

understand the referee. The situation

now is Barcelona are still a goal down,

but Chelsea are a man down now. The

result seems clear to everyone andsurely enough Barcelona race to a two

goal lead through Iniesta and Busquets.

It seems now that Barcelona have

already won this.

To cut the long story short, they didnt win

the game. Unknown to most people; one

of the greatest attributes of the then

Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo

was his motivational skills. Chelsea

emerged from the dug-out a changed

team. They didnt panic looking for a goal

but sure enough they found one with

Lampard playing in Ramires to

immaculately chip over the onrushing

Valdes. Torres later struck in injury time

to confirm the result.

As opposed to Arsenal, the harsh red

card in this case affected the outcome

positively in Chelsea's favour. They felt

an injustice and felt they had to fight for

something, felt they had to work harder.

Didier Drogba took it upon himself to

marshall the whole of the left hand side (

conceding a penalty in the process). JoseBosingwa worked tirelessly marshalling the

defence and eventually assisted Torres. This

game is a good example that contrary to

popular belief a red card doesnt always

impact a team negatively. It might be the

kick in the back that fires everyone to work

that bit harder for the team and in the

process acheiving the desired result. One

can even argue that an 11 man Chelsea

may have lost the game.

PREPAREDNESS

Having looked at two diverse examples, the

question that emerges is can football teams

prepare for a red card? The answer

depends on who you ask. The standard

approach managers go for is taking off a

forward for an extra defender and dropping

the defensive line even lower.

This is not always successful as some

teams are patient and will subject you to

death by a million passes. So what is an

effective way to deal with this scenario?

Old school managers like Fabio Capello

and Graham Taylor are known to prepare

their teams by playing their entire squadvs four defenders and a goalkeeper. It is

noted that in most cases, the full squad

are unable to score past 5 players only.

This may be a good way to prepare but

just like penalty shootouts, you cannot

recreate the pressure.

On the field of play, the solution to

dealing with a red card is not defending

in numbers. The solution lies in a mixture

of defending deep, in numbers and

putting pressure on the ball. At the

highest level, 99% concentration equals

100% failure. Every single individual has

to pressuring the ball holder so as to

deny the attacking team space and time

to open up areas.

As the attacking team, some ideas from

Pep Guardiola can help you open up a

ten man team defending deep. Since you

need to open up space in crowded area,

Bayern Munich simply pass the ballaround patiently and then shift wings

rapidly from left to right and vice versa.

Here they can easily double up on either

full back and with Robben on your team

it is just a matter if time before

something gives.

CONCLUSION

Being a man down is a scenario that

significantly affects the course of a

football match and more often than notwe are left wondering what would have

happened otherwise.

Seeing that the situation is never going

away, it is important that managers try

their best to find a tailored approach to

either playing with less players or

attacking with a numerical advantage.

In the meantime though, lets just sit back

and enjoy the quality football on displayin our country and internationally. Peace.


Having looked at two

diverse examples, the

question that emerges

is can football teams

prepare for a red

card? The answer

depends on who you

ask. The standard

approach managers

go for is taking off a

forward for an extra

defender and drop-

ping the defensive

line even lower.


25/60

LIFE AFTER FOOTBALL: Pablo’s Halfway Tree Enterprise


By Timothy Olobulu

Having moved to Kenyan Premier League giants Tusker FC at the

start of the 2009 season from Kenya Commercial Bank FC, Joseph

‘Pablo’ Njuguna’s career had taken a trajectory. He had finally

broken into the crème de la crème of Kenyan football.

For him, the sky was now the limit. At only the age of 23, he sawhis career taking a flight that ideally would have landed him into

one of the top teams in Europe. His football dream was alive.

INJURIES

But the end of the 2010 season would slap his dreams off course.

Three serious injuries within a short span caused him to be

dropped at the Ruaraka based club. After two stellar seasons with

Tusker FC where he had ruled the midfield and ascended to one of

the best number eights in football at that time, his dreams slowly

faded away like the morning dew.

“I first picked up a fracture on my ankle, then it healed. But when

I went back to training, I twisted my knee and I went out again. I

healed, got back to training

and twisted the other knee. I

was confused. What had

suddenly happened to me. It

took so long for me to recover

and at the end of the season,

Tusker dropped me,” Njugunanarrates to Soka as he tells of

the journey to who he is right

now.

It is during this period that he began thinking of his life after

football. Previously, he was used to living on the means and monies

he accrued as he spent his time and energy on the training and

match day pitch. The injury, which saw him become club-less,

pushed him to the walls.

“It was so unfortunate and I started giving everything a deep

thought. What if my career ended right now? What would I do?Would I sleep hungry?” Pablo questioned himself.

SUPPORTIVE GIRLFRIEND

He adds he managed to pull through the situation with the help of

his friends who were always by his side and his girlfriend who

nursed him and took care of him when he was incapacitated. But

still, he had to think of his future; his life after football.

It is from where the idea of starting up a business was born from

and since he was a lover of fashion, he decided to start up a

clothes business with some of the little money he had managed to

save off. With only a starting capital of Sh5,000 Njuguna picked up

a business and six years down the line, he own to shops in

At only the ageof 23, he saw

his career

taking a flight

that ideally

would have

landed him

into one of thetop teams in

Europe.



26/60


Nairobi’s Donholm Estate. He is building

his empire; The Halfway Tree Enterpirise.

“I started off buying in small pieces and

selling to people individually, not in a

shop. I started off with men’s clothing

but when I tried ladies’ clothing, it

worked like magic. I realized that ladies

buy more than men and I decided to go

full on ladies. Soon, I made the decision

to open up a shop, a small one to begin

with,” Njuguna narrates.

With his business taking shape and

managing to keep his life, that of his wife

and his ten-year old daughter on course,

Njuguna is still thinking whether to hanghis boots or not with his contract at AFC

Leopards having lapsed.

The midfielder who has played for KCB,

Mathare United and Gor Mahia, winning

the Kenyan Premier League title in 2013

and the FKF Cup (Now GOtv Shield) in

2012 with the latter says he is weighing

his options on whether to continue his

active playing days or just concentrate

on business.

“I have to weigh all the options I have. For

me, I deal with second hand clothes and to

get the best you always need to be at the

market very early in the morning. That’s

about the same time you should be going

for training. Not unless I get a very good

offer, I am contemplating putting my concen-

tration on business but even if I get a very

good offer, I will only play for a year,”

ADVICE

His advice to Kenyan footballers; save and

invest while you are still earning. He

believes football is a very short career and

for you to cushion yourself against stretch-

ing the begging bowls once your glory daysare over, you need to look at the life after

competitive football.

“Football in Kenya is not very well paying

and at the same time, it is a thankless

career. You can play very well for one

season and the next you dip in form and

consequently dropped from the team.

Where do you even start from there. Most

likely what people do is go to teams that will

pay them less just to get back to the top,”Njuguna narrates.

“For a footballer, they spend half the day

training and resting. What do you do

with the remaining half? While you earn

some money, one should ensure they

save and invest an amount. It is not very

easy nowadays surviving on just one

source of income,” he adds.

In the next five years, he sees himself

expanding his business and turning it

into wholesale business. He also dreams

of starting up imports to ensure he

maintains his quality.

“At the moment, I can’t complain much.

I pay my rent, I eat, I take my daughter toschool and I manage to run both shops

well. But in five years, this will be bigger,

with a bigger clientele,” the midfielder

adds.

“Football in Kenya is

not very well paying

and at the same time,

it is a thanklesscareer..."



27/60

Musa Otieno: Why I came back to Kenya


By TIMOTHY OLOBULU

After a cool 311 appearances for Santos

FC in the South African league capped

with 34 goals, Musa Otieno was promot-

ed to the coaching department at the

club he had faithfully served for 15 years

as assistant coach. This is what many

would consider lucrative especially in

terms of remuneration where the pay

down South is better compared to

Kenya. But ‘Otero’ as his peers fondly

know him as decided to drop the role

and come back home.

He was hungry and angry. He was a

young man picked to the national team

at the tender age of 18 but unlike his

days when scouts used to go round

looking for players all over the country,

the same was not happening in the

present age.

PASSION

“I have a huge passion for youthfootball,” Otieno who has been capped

96 times by the national team told Soka

as we began our interview. At the age of

19, he played for one of the biggest

clubs in the country then, AFC Leopards

and this was after being spotted playing

for Inter-Continental FC at the City

Stadium.

“Gor Mahia was the first team to

approach me. They were referred to meby one of my relatives and when their

scouts came to watch me playing in

Maringo, they were interested. However,

they could not sign me up because I

wanted them to assure me they would

pay for my school fees but they only said

they could do it for one term. I declined.

AFC came calling and at that time, they

had a lot of money. They paid for my

entire education up to form four,” Musa

recalls with a nostalgic smile.

It is this insistence on giving the youth a

chance that has driven Otieno to return

home and not only is he paying close

attention to his task as the Harambee

Stars assistant coach, but alsoworking behind the scenes to help

identify and nurture more talent.

“That is the reason you find that our

national team is not doing well. The

insistence on youth structures has not been

well put in place and it is why I came back

to try and give back what I got to the society.

I was given a chance as a young player and I made it. A

young man from Maringo who never knew he would

make it in life and here I am today. What tells you there

isn’t as much of a number who haven’t gotten that

chance,” Otieno told Soka.

YOUTH TEAMS

The Stars assistant coach opines it should be made manda-

tory that all Kenyan Premier League clubs have youth

teams and a youth league be set up in the country. Current-

ly, Gor Mahia and Bandari are the only clubs in the country

who have established youth teams. Otieno has also taken

a jibe at federation officials who no longer take keen

attention to primary and secondary school games

saying there is a lot of talent usually on show in this

annual showpieces but are never quite taken into

consideration.“Personally I use my time moving from one acade-

my to another trying to impart the small knowledge

I have on the young players and trying to

groom them. I also have the Musa

Otieno foundation and from there we

have produced players like Charles

Odette and Ken Wendo. There are morewe could produce if we had the best

structures,” Otieno added.

Musa’s journey through professional

football

After being sidestepped by

Gor Mahia, Otieno found

some solace when he

joined AFC Leopards

in 1992, playing upto 1994. He

moved from

AFC to join

"A young man fromMaringo who never

knew he would make

it in life and here I am

today..."



28/60


he is paying close attention to his

task as the Harambee Stars

assistant coach, but also working

behind the scenes to help identify

and nurture more talent.


Kenya Breweries (Now Tusker FC) at the end of the 1994 season

with the promise of being given a job. But after two years with the

promise never fulfilled, Otieno was already looking at greener

pastures.

“We were being paid Sh4,000 a month at that time. It was very

hard because it was even lower than what some employees at

Breweries were getting as allowances. But at the start of the 1997

season, I got an invitation to trial at Santos though Elias Makori, a

journalist in Nairobi,” Musa narrates.

Makori, now the Nation Media Group regional editor Rift Valley

remembers fondly watching Otieno from a tender age and how he

linked him up with a move to Santos without the two even knowing

each other.

“I was in Cape Town in 1996 and while there, I went to watch a

football match between Orlando Pirates and Santos. The Pirates

Captain then was a good friend of mine and while chatting with

him I met the Santos FC owner Ghoolam Allie. Santos had lost the

match 3-0 to Pirates and I talked to Allie and told him I could helphim get some players who would boost his team,” Makori told

Soka from his base in Eldoret.

“I saw they struggled in defense and midfield and in my mind I had

two players. Musa (Otieno) and Eric (Cantona) Ochieng. Santos

sent the tickets and I organized everything from them and they

passed their trials. However, Cantona could not go because AFC

asked a lot of money which Santos could not raise but it was easier

with Breweries and Musa,” narrates Makori.

Musa went on to build a legacy down South with Santos and in his

last years at the club went to the United States on loan with

Cleveland City Stars where he played fof our months and helped

them to the second tier title. Otieno came back to Santos to wind

up his playing days and ultimately switched to the coaching roles.

“I had seen Musa from way back during his time at Ofafa Jericho

High School and I could tell he had a lot of talent. He had the height

and confidence and I was not surprised when he made it big in

South Africa. I can say I am proud of him and myself as well,”

Makori added.

The experienced sports journalist adds that there is so much talent

in Kenya but the mechanisms and structures to tap these talents

lack.

“There are very many good players in Kenya but the transition from

high school football to another stage lacks. For example there is a

school from my village called Gekomoni who won the national

crown twice in a row. But none of those players is anywhere now.

It shows that there’s no follow up on these players. It is an area

which if we improve on, as a country we will develop our football,”Makori adds.


29/60

By Dan Ngulu

When the story of the 2015 Kenyan

Premier League is written, a special

chapter will for sure be dedicated to the

referees who did duty in the season after

they decided to stick with the league

management and not the Football Kenya

Federation (FKF) in the wake of wrangles

and threats.

These referees deserve a high mention

for their decision which would otherwiseput their careers in jeopardy, not only

throwing out the chance to be fronted for

the FIFA badges but also risking suspen-

sions. It is highly likely that we wouldn’t

have had a 2015 season had these

referees not made the bold decision.

A key group of referees who opted to

stick with the Kenyan Premier League

was lady referees. Unlike their male

compatriots, they did not have a seniorreferee amongst them to help them

make the right decision under the

circumstances but they still managed to

make the first step despite not seeing

the whole staircase.

Three lady referees; Judith Muhonja, a

center referee and assistant referees

Judy Wamoro and Beth Wambui were

making their debuts in the top flight as

beneficiaries from the wrangles andmaking the step from third and fourth

tiers to the top tier was never going to be

a stroll.

JUDY MUHONJA

Muhonja, backed in the season as one of

the best center referees, admits it was

not easy making the huge step but

armed with a level head and a good

grasp of the laws of the game, she

managed to do a splendid job.

After a series of matches as the fourth

Lady referees giving male counterparts a run for their money




30/60

official, she finally got her

first feel as center referee

in the match pitting Nakuru

AllStars against Mathare

United on Saturday 6 June2015.

Developing cold feet is an

admission even the most

experienced of referees

have made so it was not

unusual for Muhonja to feel

the heat.

TOUGH

“It was tough being on the

touch line as the reserve

referee and it was even harder

when I got the first appoint-ment as the center referee.

“I was only officiating in the

provincial league but here I was

set for my first premier league

game against teams that badly

want to win. There were jitters

of course but my fellow officials

encouraged me on the day.

“It was a memorable game

not just because it was my

first but also by the way it

was tense ahead ofkickoff,” she told Soka.

However, after blowing the

first whistle, she says all

was fine as she was sure

of her knowledge of the

rules and would apply that

to the letter.

“I was officiating against

big men and I looked like a

kid to them; I could see it in

their eyes but I knew I hold

the whistle and I have the

power, of course armed

with my knowledge of the

laws of the game. After the

first whistle I realized there


was really nothing to fear,” she

adds with a smile.

She went on to run 12 matches

as a center referee, doing

meticulously well in all and at

the end of the season was

deservedly feted as the second

best referee on the land.

She admits without good

guidance from a number of

stakeholders, it would have

been unimaginable to

achieve what she did and

for that dedicates the

award to them.

“I’d first of all like to give

These referees

deserve a high

mention fortheir decision

which would

otherwise put

their careers in

jeopardy

Unlike their

male compatri-

ots, they did not

have a senior

referee

amongst them



31/60

thanks to God for the chance and for the guidance through the

season and of course the award. This award I dedicate it to all who

encouraged me to get to the next level and to never give up.

“GMT (Ottieno), my fellow referee Amos Ichingwa and Frank Okoth

were all very encouraging and instrumental in my first season. Idon’t think I’d be here without their support and I dedicate the

award to them,” she concludes.

BETH WAMBUI

Beth Wambui’s first season also bears a success story; her first

game was in Mombasa, a clash pitting hosts Bandari against KCB

on Wednesday 25 March. She did not expect it that early in the

season but the appointment came and she had to pack her flags

for the trip to Mombasa.

Appointments to Mombasa bear mixed feelings for the officials; asmuch as the allure of making a trip to the coast comes irresistible,

no one ever fancies the experience with the Mombasa fans.

Wambui says facing them on her first appointment was as tough

as it could get.

“I believe I had a great season; it was a good experience in the top

flight and I will forever be thankful for this chance. My first match

was Bandari against KCB and I was even surprised I was consid-

ered for the game.

“The appointment sent some chill down my spine. No one wants to

face the Bandari fans in their first match and here I was being

given that challenge. I had to take it and though I encountered a lot

of arrogance from the fans by decisions that did not go their team’s

way, it all went well,” she said.

At the close of the 2015 season, Wambui had done duty in 20

matches and went on to get nominated among the best match

officials for the year and was feted as the third best in the season.

She dedicates her award to her late mother Sabina Wairimu Hinga,

her son, Shelbey Hinga, her partner, Steve Adeya who is a fellow

assistant referee and to all the referees in the season.

“My late mum used to encourage me a lot as I ventured into

refereeing and I want to dedicate to her this award. I’d also like to

dedicate it to my son Shelbey, my partner Steve Adeya and to all

the referees in the season. Without their support I’d not have had

the season I had,” she added.



“The appointment sent some

chill down my spine. No onewants to face the Bandari fans in

their first match and here I was

being given that challenge. I had

to take it and though I encoun-

tered a lot of arrogance from the

fans by decisions that did not go

their team’s way, it all wentwell,” Beth Wambui’s - 1st success story


32/60

By Jeff Kinyanjui

With the 2016 Kenyan Premier League

(KPL) set to kick off early next month,

teams are currently beefing up their

squads in preparation for what promises

to be an exciting and tough season.

As usual at Soka, we

highlight the ten

players we thinkwill leave a mark in

the KPL this season.

KPL 2016: Ten players to look out for in the upcoming seasonrd?

KPL 2016: Ten players to look out for in the upcoming seasonrd?


1. Mark Bikokwa Baraza – Ulinzi

Stars

That the 2010 KPL Champions have

signed the lad from second-tier side

Nzoia United is testament enough of his

quality. He scored 15 goals to guide the

FKF-PL side to position 5 in the log

before the league was stopped prema-

turely.

His main strengths are pace and the fact

that he is good on aerial balls. He’s

definitely a good addition to the Armyside and a player to look out for this

season.

2. Farouk Shikalo – Muhoroni Youth

Named the second-best custodian last

season, Farouk Shikalo has moved perma-

nently to Muhoroni Youth and he seems to

have finally settled and enjoying his game.

He at times, I must admit commits school

boy errors but is one of the most promising

goalkeepers in the country at the moment.

The former Police FC man scored 12goals for the club last season and Gor

Mahia had to part with huge sums of

money to secure his signature. He

comes in to replace Meddie Kagere and

it will be interesting to see if he fits into

his shoes.

4. Luis Misiko – Tusker FC

The highly rated youngster joins the

Brewers after a short spell in France

where he featured for the OGC NICE

Reserve side. He’s got good pace,

trickery on the ball and one hell of a shot

but he’ll have to fight for a starting

position in the midfield that is packed

with experienced players such HumphreyMieno and Brian Osumba.3. Jacques Tuyisenge – Gor Mahia


33/60

KPL 2016: Ten players to look out for in the upcoming season


Eric Ouma

The former Kakamega High

School prodigy was a surprise

signing for Gor Mahia in the

December – January window.

It is not every day that a club of

Gor Mahia’s caliber signs a

youngster straight from High

School but Ouma is a talented

left back but he will have tofight for a starting berth with

arguably the best left back in

5. Lwamba Mulondwa

Bebeto - Muhoroni

The Congolese striker

joined Nakuru AllStars mid

last season in search of

playtime and really

impressed, scoring nine

goals in the process. He has

now moved to Muhoroni Youth and its time to watch

what he has to offer in a full

season at the Sugar Belt

side.

Named the 2015 Kenyan

Premier League (KPL) Midfield-

er of the Year, much to the

surprise of many, the Mathare

United youngster will have toprove to the doubters what he

is actually made of. He was

core part of the Slum Boys

side, helping them finish 9th in

the log and has been the

center of transfer rumors, with

Gor Mahia said to be have

eying him. However he will still

be with the Slum Boys at least

for another season and it will

be interesting how he performsthis year. He’s got an eye for a

good pass and a powerful shot

that troubled most custodians

last season, earning his first

call up to the National team.

7. Meshack Karani –

Bandari

Meshack Karani is an

immensely talented player that

is yet to reach higher heights

and this is mainly due to off the

pitch issues. During his time at

Football Kenya Federation

Premier League (FKF-PL) sideKariobangi Sharks, the player

would disappear for up to a

6. Eric Johanna – Mathare

United

month, cut off communication

completely for no apparent

reason only to resurface. The

team released him and he

eventually joined MathareUnited where he was released

for almost the same reasons.

He rejoined Chemelil Sugar FC

where he regained his form

and showed some brilliance

last season. He’s now at

Coastal side Bandari FC where

he will however have to fight for

a place in the starting place

with former Gor Mahia striker

Danny Sserenkuma, George Abege among other top

strikers.

9. Cersidy Lumumba

The former Nakuru AllStars

midfielder rejoined Tusker

FC at the beginning of the

season after his loan spell

ended and Paul Nkata hasmade it clear that the

youngster, nicknamed

Carrick, will be an

important player for the

Brewers this season.

The youngster started

brightly in the season

opener against Thika

United and is eager to mark

his territory after adisappointing first stint in

Ruaraka.

the league, Rwandese

Abuba Sibomana.

He impressed in the few

minutes he played againstBandari in the 2016

season curtain – raiser and

will definitely be a player to

watch out for this season.


34/60

Baraza’s sense of maturity and complex simplicity will be missed


10. Danny Sserenkuma – Bandari

The 2012 KPL Player of the Season is

back in the country after a short unsuc-

cessful stint in Armenia where he

featured for top-tier side Ulisses. Does

he still have the touch that made him the

top scorer in 2014? A starting position isnot assured though as Bandari tactician

has a selection headache upfront with

several other top strikers available;

Karani Meshack, George Abege, Edwin

Lavatsa, Shaban Kenga, Victor Ndinya

and Masoud Juma.

The soft spoken striker, who has now hanged

his boots, is taking his first steps in manage-

ment as an assistant coach at Sofapaka; a club

he has served from 2009.

By Zachary Oguda

Michelangelo, the Italian sculptor, took four

years to paint the roof of the Sistine chapel.

Thomas Edison, the American inventor,

needed 2000 attempts at designing the

light bulb before he got it right. Even Chess

had to wait for 25 years to get a solo

number one single. Patience as an

application is an asset, and one that John

Barry Baraza has in abundant supply.

The soft spoken striker, who has now

hanged his boots, is taking his first steps in

management as an assistant coach at

Sofapaka; a club he has served from 2009.

He doesn’t expect us, more so for an

interview this early in his career. After

convincing him he gives in and he opens up

on his life on the football pitches. Exudinghis calmness, a trait he had infront of goal in

his entire career, Barry looks far from ruffed.

He’s used to waiting before he makes his

point.

The new Sofapaka assistant coach had

not been a permanent fixture in the

national squad of late but that, he says,

didn’t derail his progress in the club

duties. ‘You’ve got to trust the coach’, hesays. ‘Obviously there were

disappointments when I was not always

selected, but it gave me more

determination to work hard for my club.

All I did was to do my duty each and

every time I was called upon to represent

the country. I was always ready when the

nation needed me,’ he remarks.

TACTICAL AWARENESS

Like a fine wine he got better with age.He red the game exceptionally well and

had developed a fast-rate tactical aware-

Once Upon a legend

teams are currently

beefing up their

squads inpreparation for what

promises to be an

exciting and tough

season.


35/60


Kenya's only all suite hotel uniquely designed, offering

deluxe accommodation, exquisite dinning, modern conference

facilities, secure parking and five star service

Contact reservation on + 254 2821000 Email: [email protected]


36/60

Once Upon a legend

Koth Biro


ness. Though his speed wasn’t the best,

he shares a secret that any aspiring

striker would like to add to his qualities.

‘The game had a lot going to the twilight

of my career and there were more young

ruthless defenders who came toimpress and would boot me every time I

got the ball but that didn’t worry me. I

calculated my moves inside the box and

ensured that my timings were spot on. If

you can marry the two, then you

shouldn’t have a problem in banging the

goals,’ he retorts.

He is a true leader, self-less and

self-sacrificing. He would run a brick of

wall for his team mates. He attributes

this to his desire to lead by example to

the upcoming stars that look to him.

‘Many young players would like to be

like Barry and I must be a father figure to

them. It’s a challenge to the established

stars and not to me alone,’ he said.

TWAHIR MUHIDIN

What of the coach that he feels had a

big impact on his playing career. “ I have

had the chance to play under some of

the best coaches in the country but I

have two who had a major say in my

football life. I would first thank Twahir

Muhiddin who gave me my Kenya Premier

League (KPL) debut with Oserian despite

being the youngest in the team back then. I

had to escape training on my first day due to

the names that were in the team but hefollowed me and brought me back. I can say

he decided my destiny in football,” Barry

remarked.

“Jacob Ghost Mulee is another coach I have

uttermost respect for. There are no

permanent names in the national team but

he ensured that I was always in the team

whenever the team was called to camp.

Luckily, I didn’t dissapoint whenever I was

called upon do represent my country,” he

said this with a smile.

Sofapaka didn’t perform well in the 2015

season but Baraza feels that they are

headed in the right direction.

“There have been setbacks for the club in

the past few seasons that we can’t run

away from. Sofapaka was one of the best

teams financially in the previous years but

that changed because of some difficulties

that were going through. There has been a

mss exodus of players and we don’t grudge

anyone. They did their work when they

were here and for that we have to be

thankfull. However, before we graced the

top flight, in 2008, we had a group of

young talented lads who gave their all

and we are determined to build on thatbluenprint. Currently, we have some of

the best talents undertaking trials with

us and I believe we will be giving them a

platform to showcase what they have.

They are determined, hard workers and

we are planning to start a fresh with

them. We might not be title challengers

this coming season but we are

assembling a side that will give their all.

Sometimes you have to make one step

backward inorder to make numerous

steps going forward,”Baraza said.

What of the toughest opponent he’s ever

faced in his football career. “I have

played across two generations who

offered different challenges’, he pauses.

‘In my earlier days, former Mathare

United defende Phillip Opiyo and George

Fundi were the toughest I faced. They

could rough you up without the consent

of the referee and would go scot free. A

time I had to change wings to get my

way into the box,” he said. “The current

Like a fine wine he got

better with age. He red

the game exceptionallywell and had developed

a fast-rate tactical

awareness. Though his

speed wasn’t the best,

he shares a secret that

any aspiring striker

would like to add to his

qualities


37/60

Once Upon a legend


generation have my former team mate

James Situma, Joakins Atudo and Gor

Mahia’s Musa Mohammed. They have

been my toughest opponents who wouldgive you a rare chance to get through

them,” the former APR Rwanda striker

said.

With a sterling career, Baraza couldn’t

hide the highlights of his careers and the

golden boots heroics couldn’t be

excluded from his list.

“I have a lot of highlights in my career

but scoring in the 2004 African Cup ofNations in Tunisia, the grandest stage in

continental football, against Burkina

Faso was the major highlight of my

career. Another highlight was in the

2012 season golden race. We were tied

in the same number of goals with Danny

Sserenkuma heading to the final day of

the season and whoever could have

outscored the other in the same final day

would carry the day. While up against

Thika United, I was handed the free kicks

duty which was a surprise to me

because I had never taken one all

through that season but I stepped up

and scored to win the golden boot race.

Winning the Kenya Premier League with

Oserian and Sofapaka and clinching the

Tanzanian League title with Yanga are

just among the higlights that I am proud

of,” Baraza remarked.

In his career, Baraza had an aim of

making it in the European League butthat didn’t materialize as he would have

wished. Though he says he is happy with

everything that he had achieved in his

playing career, the soft spoken left foot

striker says that failing to make it in one

of the biggest club’s in Europe is his only

major regret.

“Every other young player hopes that he

would once make it to top team like

Manchester United, Chels

Soka Magazine Feb-March 2016

Documents

Transcript of Soka Magazine Feb-March 2016