Kenya/Namibia: Thousands Turn Up to Cheer Team
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Nation (Nairobi)
COLUMN
6 September 2008
Posted to the web 7 September 2008
Sammy Kitula
Nairobi
The mood said it all. The Kenyan game has crawled back into the weekend menu. And the fans were at the stadium in droves to cheer on their team.
For the third match in a row, all the tickets were sold out by Saturday! After a prolonged lull in the Kenyan football, finally, fans seem to have found the rhythm and the rest is falling place.
"I just can't wait to get into the stadium! It's been long since I was at Kasarani cheering the national team, but today, I've come," said one of the fans.
Thousands of fans were at Kasarani ready to see a reversal of a 1-0 loss back in Windhoek on the 6th of October 1996 during the first round. The goal that sunk Kenya then had been an injury time own goal from Kenyan wing back Francis Oduor.
As early as 10am, many a football mad fans started trooping in the stadium and could not hide their anxiety of the match.
But still, am yet to find a reason why all of a sudden there is an influx of fans thronging to the stadium for an international football match.
A few months ago today, no one wanted to hear anything to do with football in Kenya, leave alone at the national level. Sports like Rugby, athletics and Volleyball had replaced the old sport.
"Things have changed and Harambee Stars is one of the most successful sports discipline in Kenya of late," stressed another.
Right from the main entrance off Thika Road, anxiety could be felt as fans expressed their feelings over the match.
Vendors too, couldn't afford to miss this golden opportunity to squeeze the last cent off buyers pockets.
Match beamed live
The long queues extending more than 200m couldn't deter the expectant crowds from being part of the Kenyan success, not even Isaac Juma (the "juju" man) who is nursing injuries could have afforded to miss the encounter.
Prime Minister, Raila Odinga as well as Sports Minister, Hellen Sambili were also in attendance in the match that was beamed live on SuperSport, a first in Kenya's history.
And for those who had counterfeit tickets, they had a rude awakening! Unlike the usual tearing of tickets they've been accustomed to, this time round, there were screening machines that were doing the job.
But as we were patiently waiting for the match to kick off, I couldn't but help overhearing a conversation between two female fans, which left me wondering, how well do Kenyan fans know their players apart from Oliech, Mariga, Oboya, Mambo, Origi and Mulama? "Yule pale ni nani? Na huyo ndiye anaitwa nani? (Who's that over there? And the other one next to him?)
But even then, how many can name the Harambee Stars lineup? Don't you think its time we have some consistency in the naming of the national squad? Am not calling for untouchables but rather we get accustomed to our players and substitutes.
I think by that, it will save these ladies and others alike, from guessing who our real players are.
So who or what is the reason behind the sudden sense of patriotism experienced at Nyayo National Stadium in the past international matches and around Kenya during this campaign?
Relevant Links
"I think we are getting back to where we were in the early 80s. All we are calling for is the continual support of the team by the whole nation and I know through that, the Stars will by all means, excel," said Patrick Naggi, Kenya Football Federation Technical Director.
Read comments. Write your own.
|
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Copyright © 2008 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Make allAfrica.com your home page
|
RSS Feed
Sign up for FREE daily 'top headlines' by email >> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | My Account | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
