Back in the early 1990s, the European champions cup which was the predecessor of today’s champions league was in danger of extinction. 20 of Europe’s top clubs threatened to secede from UEFA and form their own trans-continental league. The reason for their mutiny was that at the time, the European champions cup was a knockout tournament instead of a league which meant less money going to each team. But more importantly because each country was limited to only one representative unlike today when teams like Germany, Spain, England and Italy have up to four representatives.

As a result of the one team policy, a club that narrowly failed to win its domestic league and finished second would be relegated to the second tier UEFA up which was less lucrative and less glamourous. Thus for example, when Real Madrid won the league four times in a row in the 1980s, it meant that Barcelona could not play in the European champions cup and were relegated to the UEFA cup year after year. In England, because Liverpool were dominant and won the league often, it meant that Man U and Arsenal rarely got a taste of the champions league. In fact the mighty Manchester United went through a period of 24 years between 1969 and 1994 where they did not play in Europe’s top tier competition, the champions cup.

What it meant also is that fans never got a chance to see Europe’s top teams compete against each other. Democracy meant that every European country was equally represented. Thus instead of watching Man U take on Real Madrid in the group phase, it was more likely to see Man U take on an obscure team from Eastern Europe such as Legia Warzawa. And because it was a knockout tournament it was not uncommon to see a final pitting two obscure teams like PSV Eindhoven and Steaua Bucharest. TV audiences for such matches was low due to low public interest.

It was against this backdrop that Europe’s 20 top teams threatened to leave UEFA andc create their own 20 team league. To avoid this mutiny, UEFA relented and came up with a system whereby countries like Spain, Italy, England and Germany could send up to four representatives. The result is today’s champions league which is a money spinner that is guatanteed huge TV audiences and tremendous global interest.

Therein lies the solution to CECAFA. This year, Kenya’s representatives will be Tusker, a team with a minimal to non-existent fan base. This automatically means the Kenyan public will most likely be disinterested, much like they were in 2012 and in 2011 when Ulinzi played.

In Tanzania, Yanga will miss out which means a huge proportion of Tanzanians will not be interested in watching the CECAFA club cup.

Public interest would go up several notches if additional teams were invited from Kenya and Tanzania. So why not invite Gor Mahia who finished second in the Kenyan league in 2012. The glory days of the CECAFA cup were the 1970s when Luo Union, AFC and Gor Mahia played in this tournament regularly. In those days, Kenya was almost always represented by two teams who met in the final occasionally. When the teams played fans of these teams were glued and riveted to their radios listening to the match. Public interest was sky high. The demise of this tournament begun with the decline of Gor Mahia and AFC. Now that these two teams are back on the mend, it is time to introduce today’s generation of fans to this tournament which has a glorious history.

Inviting teams that have a significant following will not only enhance public interest but might also draw sponsors and possibly television broadcasters. It is therefore in CECAFA’s best interest to invite teams that have a significant following whenever possible. Teams like AFC Leopards, Yanga, Gor Mahia and Simba.

Just as the European champions cup had to adapt or perish 20 years ago, the CECAFA club cup must adapt in order to overcome the issues it is facing today such as low public interest and sparse crowds.

Chris Makokha, kakamega green commandos, Kakamega high

Chris Makokha, Washington Muhanji, Mike Amwayi, George Nyangi Odembo, Maurice Sunguti, Simeon Mulama, Bonaventure Maruti and Tony Lwanga. Reginald Asibwa, Peter Lichungu, Ben Musuku, Dan Musuku, Patrick Shilasi, Dennis Munyendo, Anthony Fwaya. Joash Okongo, Hezron Osuka, Mike Kisaghi, Andrew Oyombe and Kennedy Oliech who played for Gor Mahia Patrick Mugata, Ronald Watsiera, Isaac Kwoba, and Mike “Computer” Wambani, Green commandos, Arthur Onyango “Coimbra”, Keffa tasso, mike spinks mbidha, john okello zangi”, reinhard fabisch

Nineteen year old Faith Kipyegon broke the Kenya women’s 1500m by a running a superb time of 3:56.98. The previous record of 3:57.41 had been set by Jackline Maranga in Monaco circa 1998. In doing so, Kipyegon also shaved 7 seconds off her previous personal best. In 2008, compatriot Nancy Jebet Lagat won the Olympic gold medal in this event. Lagat’s  personal best of 4:00.13 is almost 3 seconds slower than the time Kipyegon posted.

Kipyegon did this at the Doha grand prix. Her superlative performance failed to grab the headlines in Kenyan newspapers beause she actually finished second in her race to Abeba Aregawi of Ethiopia. Kipyegon overshadowed by David Rudisha and Asbel Kiprop who each won their respective races.

Aregawi of Ethiopia had been invincible over the 1500m throughout last season’s diamond league meetings but Kipyegon gave her a run for her money and almost beat the vastly experienced Aregawi.

Earlier in the year, she had won the  junior race at the 2013 world cross country championships held in Bydogcz Poland. Kenya with all its talent has lacked a consistent, dependable performer at this event and fans will be counting on Kipyegon to deliver medals.

With her early success Kipyegon has certainly shown signs that she is gold medal material assuming she trains hard and smart and remains injury free. She is certainly one to watch for starting at the 2013 World athletics championships to be held in Moscow.

Tunisia et al had no answer for Kenya

It was superb performance by the two teams representing Kenya at the recent Africa cup sevens held in Mombasa over the weekend. Kenya was represented by two teams; Kenya B (Shujaa) and Kenya C (Chairmans Select). The main Kenya team (Kenya A) was left out of the tournament as they are preparing for the finals legs of the 2012-2013 IRB sevens series in London and Glasgow. This was also an opportunity for players who are knocking on the door of the Kenya A team to showcase their skills and get a call up. This included ace Humphrey Kayange who by his own admission, is not in the shape he was in say 2 years ago when he skippered team Kenya and was cited by New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens as one of the best players in the world.

Kenya results on day one were as follows :

Zimbabwe 14 Kenya C 10
Tunisia 7 Kenya B 21
Kenya C 21 Ivory Coast 0
Kenya B 34 Namibia 0
Morocco 7 Kenya C 17
Zambia 0 Kenya B 38

Day 2 results were as follows

Quarter Finals
Kenya B 21 Nigeria 5
Kenya C 14 Tunisia 17

Plate Semi Finals
Kenya C 22 Nigeria 0

Main Cup semi final
Kenya B 31 Tunisia 0

Final
Kenya B 24 Zimbabwe 19

All in all a superb performance by Kenya ; That they were able to win the tournament without Kenya A players like Collins Injera, Oscar Ouma, Willy Ambaka, Horace Otieno, Lavin Asego, et al demonstrates the depth in talent that Kenya has.

And keep in mind that not too long ago, teams like Morocco, Zimbabwe, Tunisia and sometimes Uganda ran roughshod over Kenya’s best players. In 1997, the Kenya sevens team with such top tier talents like Andrew Ondiek “Ndiri”, Manuel Okoth and Paul Murunga were pummeled by Tunisia by almost 50 points during the 1997 sevens world cup qualifier held in Tunisia. First forward to 2001 and Kenya was a vastly improved side when the world cup qualifiers arrived in Nairobi. Still the team led by Paul Murunga, Oscar Osir, Benjamin Ayimba , Kenndy Aswani et al were no match for Zimbabwe led by Kenyan defectee Victor Olonga. Zimbabwe won the final against Kenya who still qualified after finishing second. During that same qualfiers, Kenya had lost to Uganda in the preliminaries 19-7 much to the chagrin of Kenya fans. Since then however Uganda is no match for Kenya , be it Kenya A, Kenya B or Kenya C. Morocco was always a tough nut to crack for Kenya. And this time they were coached by Frenchman Christophe Rouchaleou who used to coach Kenya and were made up entirely of France based players. Nigeria were also based entirel of UK based players.

That the likes of Tunisia, Morocco, Zimbabwe etc used to routinely beat Kenya A yet can now be beaten by Kenya C speaks volumes of how much progress Kenya rugby sevens has made.

Kenya Rugby imetoka mbali

Indeed Kenya rugby sevens has improved in leaps and bounds since the 1990s when they were stumbling along talking about Kenya’s potential which was never going to be fulfilled. Kenya has not reached Canaan yet but if they do not rest on their laurels and continue improving, they will catch up with the likes of New Zealand. With good planning, 5-10 years from now, Kenya might be discussing how New Zealand and South Africa used to routinely beat Kenya 31-7 yet Kenya now beats them. Before you dismiss that as pie in the sky, remember that this is sevens. And Kenya sevens players are as goodas any. Since the 1970s, Kenya players have proven that they are just as talented as anyone from New Zealand, England or Fiji. In the 1970s it was Dennis Awori. In 1982, Beth Omollo and Joe Masiga wowed crowds at the Dubai sevens where Masiga finished as the top scorer while playing for Watembezi. Less than a decade later it was Edward Rombo who set crowds alight at the Singapore sevens and the Twickenham sevens finishing as the top scorer and player of the tournament ahead of New Zealand players some of whom were fully fledged all blacks.

So yes Kenya can go tops. KRFU as well as coaches like Ian Simiyu and Felix Ochieng has done well to develop the game. If they continue working at it, Kenya could very well win a medal at the 2016 Olympics and possible gold in 2020.

Support from the political class

The tournament was graced by top politicians from the Coast province. Most notable was newly elected governor Hassan Joho who expressed support for the tournament.  He said, ” This is a very important event. Apart from promoting sports, it is also part of our plan to diversify the tourism sector. We need to introduce new areas of tourism and sports tourism is key for us.”

It is refreshing to see politicians finally realize how sports can be used to create employment and drive tourism. With his support, Kenya may finally build a stadium in Mombasa capable of hosting international tournaments, perhaps even a leg of the IRB sevens. Also in attendance was Kilifi governor, Amason Kingi

Prisons after winning the 2013 Africa club championships

First off congratulations are due to the Kenya Prisons volleyball team for retaining the Africa club championships. They showed great resilience by beating Algerian side GS Petroliers. The win was no easy feat; To begin with, the Algerian national team has beaten their Kenyan counterparts several times in recent years. Secondly, GS Petroliers has beaten Kenya Prisons in the preliminaries.

On an individual note, Everlyn Makuto was named the best attacker while Brackcides Khadambi won the best blocker and most valuable player awards. It was team-work however that lifted prisons above the competition. Congratulations are due all round.

Prisons have proven over and over that they are the top team in Africa. They won in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and now in 2013. Indeed Kenyan teams have dominated the club scene in Africa since the 1980s with Posta and Pipeline. It is at global level however where Kenyan teams are found wanting.

Rather than stagnate at the same level as Kenya volleyball has done for almost 3 decades, why explore ways to move Kenya volleyball to the next level.

Government Support

Prisons is a government entity which means it is supported wholly by finances from the government. Of the funds allocated to run prisons in Kenya, a portion of it is used to run sports teams in various sports besides volleyball. This is a good thing; Besides raising staff morale, it contributes positively in developing talent and giving players an avenue to express their talents.

Since the government is already spending money indirectly to fund teams like Prisons, Ulinzi, GSU and Pipeline all of which are government entities, why not spend money funding region based community teams ?

The government could fund a volleyball team in each of Kenya’s major towns : Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret. Nairobi, given its size could host at least 3 teams : Nairobi-South, Nairobi-East and Northern Nairobi.

Why Region based teams ?

1. Region based teams are Crowd pullers

A league comprising region based teams is sure to be a crowd puller. Kenyans identify with their towns or regions. Rivalries will be created between the various towns or regions. A league that pulls crowds wills surely gain sponsors. Eventually there will be enough sponsorship money that the league will become self sustaining.

On the other hand, it is very difficult to attract public attention to a league that primarily consists of institutional teams like Prisons, Posta, Pipeline, GSU and Ulinzi.

2. Professionalism

Kenya Prisons are set to play in the world club championships. As we all know, they have played in this tournament several times and have never won a set. The primary reason given is the fact that they are competing against professional teams.

As things stand now Prisons will never become a professional team. In fact the Kenyan league as currently constituted will never gain enough crowds and enough corporate sponsorship to pay players professional salaries. However a league with region based teams if well organized could eventually pull enough crowds and grow large enough to become professional. And even if it does not become professional, it will likely have teams that have better funding which will lead to better performances.

Kenyan teams will continue to loose at global level unless we change our model

3. Youth development and Promoting the sport

A well run regional team will also make it possible to develop local talent especially among the youth.Having volleyball teams in towns outside Nairobi will make it possible to tap the talent that is available in other towns aside from Nairobi. As things stand now, a youngstar who wants to play top tier volleyball but does not live in Nairobi will find it very difficult to play since virtually all the top tier teams are based in Nairobi. It means that upcountry based talent is being wasted.

4. Continuity

One problem with corporate or institutional teams is that they exist only at the whims of management. If a new management team comes in, they could arbitrarily decide to terminate the team. This is precisely what happened to Posta Volleyball club which dominated Kenyan and African volleyball in the 1980s and 1990s. Community teams are more likely to survive longer and thus create a tradition.

5. Creating employment opportunities

A well run league with well run teams will create employment opportunities for players, coaches, journalists and so forth. In a country where youth unemployment is as high as 60%, the government should jump at any opportunity that will alleviate youth unemployment.

There is precedent

Before you dismiss this idea as pie in the sky, consider the fact that there is already precedent for the government sponsoring teams. In the Kenya women’s football league for example, almost all the teams are sponsored directly by the ministry of culture and sports and by UNICEF. The reason this league has not gained popularity is because the teams are not town based. Instead they have names like Matuu and Makolanders. You cannot pull crowds with such Nondescript names with teams that do not represent any region, town or community.

Going even further down history lane, in the 1980s, the first ever professional football team was Volcano United, whose players were also paid directly by the Ministry of culture.

Summary

With the new sports Policy becoming active this year, each sports federation will have to present a 5 year plan to the Ministry of Culture and sports in order to obtain funding.The government is already spending money to indirectly fund teams like Ulinzi and Prisons. There is no reason they cannot finance a venture that has a better chance of eventually becoming self sustaining.

I would urge the Kenya Volleyball Federation to present a plan that proposes funding for region based teams. It is the key to taking Kenya volleyball to the next level. Teams like Prisons are good but they have taken volleyball as far as they possibly can. For Kenya volleyball to go to the next level, it will require a different approach. The rapid rise of the Kenya rugby sevens team to global elite level has been due to hard work and planning. Volleyball on the other hand is still stuck in the same spot as it was in 1987

In the Euphoria of Kenya’s strong performance while playing away to Nigeria, Nairobi senator Mike Mbuvi Sonko pledged to give Harambee Stars One Million shillings for each win in their remaining three matches of the world Cup qualifiers. This is a good gesture that will serve to motivate the players especially if other prominent personalities match Sonko’s support.

However Sonko also rewarded goal scorer Francis Kahata with 100,000 shillings in cash and pledged to continue rewarding all the goal scorers in their remaining group matches.

This is a lousy idea that will certainly lead to disunity in the team. Goals are not scored in a vacuum. A goal in football is usually due to the collective efforts of the team.

Take the goal Kahata scored. It happened because Oliech who was keeping the Nigerian defenders busy, squared to Gateri who was fouled. The resulting freekick was struck home by Kahata in sublime fashion. He deserves every bit of praise for what is possibly the best freekick this author has ever seen by a Kenyan. But several other players were involved in creating the freekick.

In the 79th minute, Oliech was at it again, sending a defence splitting pass to Kahata who had a one on one with the goalkeeper and almost scored. It is this kind of team-work that is needed to score goals. In some cases, a player does all the donkey work and passes the ball to an open team-mate who scores with a simple tap in. The papers will mention the scorer but the person who actually created the goal was the player who did all the donkey work.

If Sonko and others give special recognition only to the scorers then he will discourage team-work. Players often have only a small instant to make quick decisions. If the thought of receiving Ksh 100,000 from Sonko crosses his mind at that very moment, he may not pass the ball to a player who is in a better scoring position.

Players will try to score from impossible angles, via unnecessary long range shots and the net result will be several shots on goal with no goals scored.

Sonko probably does not understand how rewarding individual scorers can have a negative impact on teamwork but someone ought to tell him.

Secondly, rewarding scorers only focuses on offense and ignores defense which is just as critical. In the Nigeria game for example, the defense was heroic. Jamal Mohammed saved a goalbound shot with his thighs, David Owino chased Victor Moses all day and foiled his scoring efforts several times, Mulinge Munandi, Arnold Origi were  equally outstanding. Heck even Oliech and Kahata fell back occasionally.

Thirdly, the field captain is supposed to determine who takes freekicks on the field. he is supposed to select the person best qualified. On this day, Oliech was the captain and he selected Kahat. “Dennis (Oliech) also considered taking that kick, but then opted to leave it to me. That is when I stepped forward.” said Kahata in an interview. Oliech is known to be selfless and team oriented, If Sonko insists on rewarding scorers then a different captain might opt to take the freekick himself to angle for Sonko’s reward despite the fact there might be a better freekick taker available.

Sonko’s heart is in the right place but he should focus in rewarding the team instead of individual players. If he wants to reward individual players then it should be player who is voted man of the match.

Kenya won 2 team titles and 3 individual titles at the 2013 World Cross country championships.

Emily Chebet won the Junior Women’s race

Men’s Senior Race

Japheth Kipyegon Korir won the mens senior race which is the most prestigious event at these Cross country championships. He finished the race in 32:45, which was 6 seconds ahead of Imane Merga of Ethiopia who was the pre-race favourite and defending champion. Moses Ndiema Kipsiro of Uganda was 4th. However no other Kenyan finished in the top ten and Kenya finished 3rd overall in the team event behind Ethiopia and USA.

Women’s Senior Race

Emily Chebet won the race in 24:24 which was 3 seconds ahead of Hiyawot Ayalew of Ethiopia. The 27 year old Chebet chased down Ayalew over the last 200m with a devastating finishing kick to win the $30,000 prize money.

Six other Kenyans finished among the top 11. This enabled Kenya to win the team title in grand style, finishing 29 points ahead of second placed Ethiopia.

Men’s Junior Race

Leonard Barsoton finished second in the race, 4 seconds behind Hagos Gebrehiwet of Ethiopia. Kenya finished second in the team title, 3 points behind Ethiopia.

Women’s Junior Race. 

Faith Kipyegon and Agnes Tirop ran neck and neck to finish 1-2. Six other Kenyans finished amongst the top 11 enabling Kenya to win the team title. The 19 year old Kipyegon retained the title she had won 2 years earlier. Racing in a snow covered surface with few patches of bare grass, The two Kenyans along with Ethiopia’s Alemitu Heroye had broken away from the rest of the pack before the two Kenyans surged ahead. Kipyegon showed her experience by timing her run perfectly to edge past the 17 year old Tirop

Basketball fans in Kenya are excited about the prospect of the Kenya Basketball Premier league could be televised live in supersport.

This is indeed a momentous occasion for the sport in Kenya if it comes to pass. Basketball has a strong group of core followers who regularly attend matches and pack the Nyayo stadium gymnasium. However the sport has yet to capture the attention of the general public, most of whom are ambivalent.

This is therefore a glorious opportunity for the Kenya Basketball Federation to spread the gospel of Kenya basketball to the public at large. It is an opportunity for the KBF to package the sport in such a way that not only will it attract public support, but also attract sponsorship.

However it is also true that a league full of corporate based teams like Kenya Airways and Cooperative bank will struggle to keep public attention. Regional or community teams are the best recipe for success. The most successful leagues across the world are those where each region or each town is represented by a team. It is also true however that due to financial constraints, is is very difficult for community based teams to flourish. That does not mean that KBF should give up.

Bolster Community teams

The Annual intercity basketball tournament that pits various East African cities against each other represents the best opportunity to create a league that can attract an enormous amount of public interest and create large ratings. Nairobi alone should have 3 or 4 teams each representing the three largest constituencies in the city.

In the past Nairobi had two teams both representing the city. So which one should Nairobians support ? Both ? That does not make any sense. What makes sense is for Nairobians to root for a team that represents their section of Nairobi.

The rest of the teams could be teams representing the major towns in the country : Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and possibly also teams from Kampala, Kigali and Dar es Salaam.

A tournament like this will create a fanatical following for the various teams because fans will find it much easier to root for a team that represents

Supersport can inject money directly into these teams or pay for their transportation and accommodation. It is in their best interest to have community teams succeed because a tournament that draws public interest leads to high television ratings which is precisely what Supersport wants.

Oboya: Missing in action this time

Kenya face an uphill task when they play defending Africa nations cup champions Nigeria in Calabar on Saturday in a 2014 world cup qualifier.

The Nigerians will be supremely confident given that they will be playing at home and are fresh off their glorious Africa cup campaign. Kenya will be playing with a new coach. Indeed Adel Amrouche faces a baptism of fire. He has not even had a chance to test out his strategies in a friendly match.

Players Missing

Kenya will be without Italy based MacDonald Mariga who is still boycotting the national team over unpaid air tickets. Kenya will also be without the dependable Humphrey Mieno has apparently chosen to ignore a call up by switching off his cell phone. According to James Nandwa, the Kenya assistant coach, Mieno was unreachable because his cell phone is turned off. Go figure.

Also inexplicably left out of the team are defensive players Anthony Akumu and Jockins Atudo. Both would have added much needed steel to the Kenya defense which will be under severe pressure.

Poor History

Nigeria has always proven to be a difficult for Kenya and playing games in Nigeria has never been a happy hunting ground for Kenya.

Much of that has to doe with the fact that Kenya have always been extremely intimidated about playing in Nigeria. Secondly, the heat and humidity of the West African coast has often proven a challenge for Kenyans accustomed to high altitudes

Down Memory Lane

The two teams have clashed at senior level 13 times previously, with Nigeria coming out tops in 11 of them, the remaining two drawn.

Their first clash was on May 8, 1968. The Nigerians, were on the way from an Olympic Games qualifying match in Ethiopia, stopped by in Nairobi for a friendly and inflicted a 2-1 defeat on their hosts.

The next clash was a friendly in Nairobi in 1981. A determined Kenya side held the Nigerians who had recently won the Africa nations cup by a score of 1-1. In August 1981, Nigeria faced kenya again in a fridnly in Nairobi and won 3-1 with goals from Henry Nwosu, Ifeanyi Onyedika and Emmanuel Osigwe.

The first competitive match between the two teams was a 1986 world cup qualifier at Nyayo stadium. On that day the stadium was filled to capacity by 12pm. Such was the passion for local football in Kenya back then. This was before the English premier league took over.

It was a nightmare scenario for Kenya which at the time was under Marshall Mulwa. The Kenya defence of Mickey Weche, John Arieno, Bobby Ogolla and others had no answer for new sensation Rashidi Yekini who along with Fatai Amoo scored as Nigeria won 3-0. The return leg in Lagos 2 weeks later ended in a 3-1 defeat with Joe Masiga scoring Kenya’s lone goal.

In 1988 the two teams met in the opening match of the Africa nations cup. A highly divided Kenyan team lost 0-3 yet again. The match will be remembered most for the comical errors of goalkeeper Washington Muhanji who gifted Nigeria two of the goals. The first one occurred when Muhanji in an attempt to pass the ball to a defender , passed directly to Sam Okwaraji who made no mistake , planting the ball into an empty net with Muhanji completely out of position. Kenya’s John Okello “Zangi” was named man of the match on that day.

The two teams met again at the 1992 Africa nations cup. This time Kenya was yet again plagued by a player boycott. Captain Mickey Weche claimed that the players, demoralized by coach Gerry Saurer only gave half effort.

Kenya lost 1-2. Both goals due to defensive lapses that left Rashid Yekini wide open. The lone goal for Kenya came via a penalty converted by Mickey Weche after Alfayo Odongo was fouled.

The match Kenyans will remember the most was the 1998 world cup qualifier at Kasarani. To a packed stadium, Kenya went toe to toe with the Nigerians who had recently been crowned Olympic champions. Kenyans cheered as the youthful squad took the lead in the 22nd minute via Ken Simiyu. Nigeria equalized late in the game via Jonathan Akpoborie.

John Odhiambo “Baresi” must have been man of the match. Not only did he mark Austin Okocha out of the game but often found space to launch most of Kenya’s attacks from his central midfield position. The return leg was however a nightmare as Kenya went down 0-3.

The last two clashes came in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 2009. Nigeria won 3-0 in Abuja. ; Ikechukwu Uche and Obinna Nsofor were the scorers . The critical return leg was marred by poor officiating. The referee who clearly had a fixed mind allowed two Nigeria goals which were clearly scored from an offside position. In that game Dennis Oliech proved a handful for the Niaja defense especially Joseph Yobo who had a torrid time keeping up with Oliech who sliced and diced the Nigerian defense with a series of mazy runs and one-twos with Emmanuel Ake. Oliech scored Kenya’s first goal and Allan Wanga scored the second. Kenya went down 2-3

Kenya Vs Nigeria in 1992

Dennis Oliech, is without a doubt the most accomplished striker Kenya has ever produced. As we write, he is the only Kenyan striker to maintain a position in the starting lineup in a team in a major European league.

He started out playing for Dagorretti Santos before he was recruited by Mathare United. He then briefly played for Tusker.

He made his international debut at age 17 in 2002. His first major tournament was the 2002 CECAFA cup held in Tanzania. Kenya had gone 19 years without winning the tournament. The 17 year old Oliech literally carried the team on his youthful shoulders. Despite coming on as a substitute in almost all the games, Oliech scored 5 goals to steer Kenya to their first CECAFA cup in 19 years. His breathtaking speed mesmerized the Tanzanian press such that they dubbed him the “turbo charger”.

His stellar performance at the CECAFA cup saw him attract interest from talent scouts across the globe. Al Arabi of Qatar came up with the best offer and Oliech joined them in 2003.

During the 2004 Africa nations cup, Oliech was once again in sensational form. He finished as the top scorer in the qualification campaign with 5 goals. Most crucial was his goal in the final qualifier against Mauritania in which he scored the winning goal in Kenya’s 1-0 win to pave the way for Kenya qualification.

At the 2004 Africa nations cup, Oliech was yet again in sensational form. His most notable performance was in the last group game which Kenya won 3-0 against Burkina Faso. Oliech set up one goal with a clever back heel to John Baraza before scoring the last goal.

Nantes

Following his superb performance at AFCON 2004 Oliech drew interest from various European teams. In 2005 he joined Nantes in the French Ligue 1. At Nantes he appeared mostly as a substitute deployed late in games to use his speed to make life difficult for tiring defenders.

AJ Auxerre

When his contract at Auxerre ended, Oliech appeared poised to return to Qatar. But he soon secured a deal with another Ligue 1 side. AJ Auxerre. It was here that his professional career took off.

When Oliech fast arrived at AJA, the fans were not amused. On social media and on forums they regiestered their dissaproval saying that Auxerre should never have signed a Kenyan because “we do not need marathon runners.

But Oliech soon won them over with his superb play.  He became so critical to the team that some Auxerre fans were seen waving Kenyan flags in the terraces.

In 2009, Oliech was a key performer as he helped steer Auxuerre to a 3rd place finish in the French league that saw them qualify for the European champions league for the 1st time ever. Most notable was  the 2-0 win over perennial giants Olympique Marseille in round 19 in which Oliech scored both goals.

Oliech played in the European champions league in 2010-2011. here is he seen against Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Milan

On September 25, 2011, Oliech scored his first ever hat-trick for Auxerre in a 4–1 win over Sochaux.

Whereas Oliech was previously dependent on his natural abilities and speed, at Auxerre he improved every aspect of his game. he became more fundamentally sound even scoring several goals with his weaker left foot. His improvement in technique, a result of hard work on the training ground makes nonsense of claims that he is not a hard worker.

While at Auxerre, Oliech arranged trials for other budding Kenyan players such as midfielder Islam Omar. Hussein Terry, the director of Nairobi football academy said “Oliech has a big heart and I would like other foreign-based players to emulate him and create openings for local players. He paid for the boys’ tickets, welcomed them warmly, bought them boots and winter clothes and gave them priceless advice while at trials at Auxerre,“

The 2011-2012 was Oliech’s best season statistically. He scored 10 goals and finished with 6 assists while playing as a winger. Despite this Auxerre were relegated. Oliech was thus condemned to playing second division football with Auxerre for half a season before he eas approached by Ligue 1 side Ajaccio

Ajaccio

On January 22, 2013, Oliech was unveiled by AC Ajaccio of Ligue 1 after completing a move from Ligue 2 side Auxerre and signing a two and a half year contract. He was handed the number 29 jersey and went on to score on his debut against Evian in a 1-1 draw.

Family

Oliech comes from a footballing family. At least 3 of his brothers have played for the Kenya national team. The late Steve Okumu Oliech was a top scorer in the Kenyan league in the late 1990s. Ken Oliech played for Gor Mahia in 2005-2006. Andrew Oyombe Oliech, a defensive midfielder played for Gor Mahia, Mathare and was once a pivotal player in the national team. He even had a brief stint in Sweden.