Kisumu County Govt Should Let Go Kisumu All Stars
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- March 29, 2023
The National Super League side, Kisumu All Stars Football Club, has since last night been in a frantic last-minute appeal to well-wishers to help it travel to Murang’a for an away match today.
This is the second away match in a row that the Kisumu County government-run team is unleashing the donation bowls to the public to aid it honor. Their last away match was in Nairobi against Kibera Black Stars. They miraculously managed to get to the game then and fought for a draw. They will need another miracle to honor the Murang’a Seal duel.
This is no way to operate as a high-level sports club. The team can’t be running on fumes every match week and expect good performance from the playing unit. You would expect better from a side under the wings of the county government, which came in to adopt it fully. Currently, it sits in the 9th spot on the log.
It could be higher up the table if its affairs were handled better.
The county government revived the team in 2018 to take the slot left by the defunct Palos Fc in the NSL. The team (KAS) then went on to gain promotion to the premier league the next season by finishing second in the second-tier league. This promotion was a high moment for Kisumu’s football fraternity; fans were ferried to Thika for All Stars’ last season match in the NSL to push the team that needed to win against Thika United to climb the ladder. With the addition of fans from Nairobi, Thika County Stadium was packed to support our boys. The community embraced Otenga (Kisumu All Stars nickname), and its subsequent home games were just as packed.
Pictures courtesy of Fabian Odhiambo
Then trouble began in paradise.
A myriad of interests from all angles made the team lack cohesion. Everyone in a position of influence somehow saw the team as a cash cow and wanted to harvest the windfall. Players were not getting paid despite being contracted, fielding and signings were said to be done without merit, the technical bench was never stable, and there was no clear sense of direction or structure in the club. Result? Loss after loss and finally relegation back to the second-tier league.
A glorious moment to take the team to the community then was wasted by the powers that be. That time in history Kisumu was ready to embrace Otenga and propel it to lofty heights, make it a community club only second to the likes of Gor Mahia or Afc Leopards, No effort was made towards this yet there was massive goodwill from the public. Fans , for example, were spiritedly asking for the team replica kits or any merchandise but none came forth.
Pictures courtesy of Fabian Odhiambo
It can still happen, albeit with more hard work than it could have taken the first time, and it starts with the county government finally handing over the reins to a capable management team that will steer it to being a sustainable, well managed community club.
County governments have no business owning or running sports teams. It’s not their mandate.
Their core business is having well laid down sports policies, kitties, structures and infrastructure to enable the nurturing of talents and creating a friendly atmosphere for all sports entities in the county to operate in. Running a team or teams by it is prone to exploitation by those in power and is unsustainable as it depends on political goodwill of respective office bearers.
The county government can easily aid in making KAS solid by connecting it corporate sponsors, capacity building its leadership and availing the right infrastructure for it and other sports outfits.
If they can get corporates to sponsor roundabouts all over the city, to sponsor festivals and such then they sure can get shirt sponsors and partners to make Otenga fly as the eagle it is instead of walking like chicken as it’s currently doing.
This half in, half out modus operandi by them is stifling the football team’s growth.
Let Otenga free to fly.
