So after 612 matches played in 6 months, the Kenya Premier League season for 2018/2019 is finally over. It should have been over Last week but Ulinzi against Mount Kenya United at the Afraha Stadium was delayed for 3 days, more on that later in the article. Let’s dwell more on the major talking points from the Kenya Premier League season for 2018/2019.
Gor Mahia remains undisputed!
The stats do not lie and neither does the table. Gor Mahia was crowned as the Kenyan Premier League champions for the third consecutive year and 18th overall. Hassan Oktay’s side has been head and shoulders above the rest of the league. Gor Mahia lost 4 league matches which is the least in the league( joint with Sofapaka), won 21whic is the highest in the league and conceded a mere 25 goals, again the best defensive record in the league.
That they won it while playing on four fronts underlines the quality, strength, and desire to win within the squad. For 3 seasons K’Ogallo has been making a mockery of the competition in the league and this year, they went a step further and made it to the quarterfinals of the Confederations Cup. Unless the rest step up, Gor Mahia will make it 4 in 4 next season!
Bandari mean business!
The Coastal based side showed massive improvement to finish as runners up in the league ahead of the experienced Sofapaka. Bandari finished just behind Gor Mahia in almost all aspects, league position, the number of wins and goals conceded. Bernard Mwalala’s side can even claim they were better than Gor Mahia having beaten them twice last season, once in the League and the other in the Shield Cup.
Their crowning moment came only two days ago when they beat Kariobangi sharks 3-1 to win the 2019 Sportpesa shield. Bandari’s progress under Mwalala has been nothing short of excellent and should he be adequately backed in the transfer Market, bigger things will follow next season.
Financial difficulties persist
Mount Kenya United gathered 18 points from 34 matches but that is not even the saddest point on their season. The side ‘supported’ by Moses Kuria were forced to award a walk over to Gor Mahia since they could not afford bus fare from their training base in Nairobi to Machakos! Imagine that, a top-flight club failing to raise bus fare to a destination 2 hours from their training base. Oh! and they are ‘supported’ by a man who has direct access to the head of state.
The financial woes are however not consigned to the bottom teams, the problem runs across the league. Towards the latter stages of the season, Gor Mahia’s player complained of unpaid dues and weeks later, photo’s emerged showing players sleeping on airport floors ahead of the CAF Confederations Cup quarter-final second leg against RS Berkane.
There were rumors that Kariobangi Sharks players were under the same predicaments when they went for 12 matches without victory midway in the season. It’s a question for the team’s management to answer and we hope that gets rectified before the start of the new season. Do not get your hopes high though!
Empty Stadia a common theme
Kenyans can talk all day on their love for football but when push comes to shove and action is required to prove that undying love, the room goes silent or rather, the stadiums. The only football teams that fill an atleast quarter of the Stadiums in the country are Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards. Go watch the other 16 teams and apart from a few family members to the players and coaches, the rest will be ball boys and Stadium staff!
It’s a high time we put our money where our mouths are and attend a local football match that is not the Mashemeji derby. Maybe if we did this, the financial woes that most clubs face will be a thing of the past.