Featured Image of Nairobi Heroes courtesy of John De Souza
In the early 1960s, several stakeholders met at Railway club and mooted the idea of creating a countrywide league. The attendees included Isaac Lugonzo, Williams Ngaah, Tony Pinto and Jimmy McFarnell. The start of the league was delayed due to disagreements with the Kenyan FA. The league finally took off in April 1963 with 10 teams of which 7 were from Nairobi.
Final Standings
Nakuru All- Stars
Coached by Ray Bachelor, the Rift Vally Sports officer, Nakuru were the first Kenya National champions ever, winning the league title in 1963. Bachelor went on to become the national team coach in 1965.
Feisal FC
The Mombasa based team, comprised mostly members of the Waswahili community
Liverpool FC
The Mombasa based side was backed primarily by people of Pakistani and Indian descent in Mombasa. Some of their players were of Indian and Pakistani descent. The team was later named Mwenge FC.
Maragoli FC
Represented members of the Maragoli community. The team boasted legend Joe Kadenge who scored the fastest goal of the season.
Luo Union FC
Represented the Luo community and boasted players like legendary goalkeeper James Sianga as well as Daniel Nicodemus and midfield maestro Stephen Yongo.
The Luhya Teams
Samia Union, Marama FC, Kakamega and Bunyore FC were the remaining teams in the league and represented the various Luhya sub-groups.
Nairobi Heroes
Formed in 1950, it was one of the several teams in Nairobi represented the Goan community which was thriving in Nairobi and Mombasa. The other Goan teams included Goan Institute which was founded in 1905. The Nairobi Heroes was the team of the youth amongst the Goan community. It included players like Tony Pinto, Martin De Souza, Eddie Rodrigues, Alex Fernandes, Eulogio Braganza, Greg Carvalho, John Fernandes, Jack Carvalho, Robert Santiago, John De Souza and Francis Fernandes. The team was finally folded in 1967 as members of the Goan community emigrated in large numbers to various countries, particularly to the United Kingdom.
