For the second time this season, the highly-anticipated Mashemeji Derby between AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia has been postponed.Mozzart Sport can now firmly confirm that Sunday’s match, initially scheduled for Nyayo Stadium, will not take place once again, due to the unavailability of a proper host venue.BREAKINGThe Mashemeji Derby has been postponed to a later date due to the lack of a hosting venue.#FootballKE pic.twitter.com/3fzyppnKm4— Ole Teya (@TeyaKevin) February 26, 2025 The news was confirmed late Wednesday 26 February evening, following unfruitful efforts by the home side – AFC Leopards – to receive approval to use Nyayo National Stadium for the key FKF Premier League fixture.Earlier on Wednesday, there was hope that Ingwe, through their club chairperson Dan Shikanda could get “a positive response from the government regarding Nyayo Stadium’s availability”, only for the discussions to hit a dead end, as the facility is still undergoing renovations in readiness for the upcoming Africa Nations Championships (CHAN) in August.##NAJAVA_MECA_8736097##The postponement becomes the second to stand in the way of this derby, following that of November 2024, which was also necessitated by the same reason.In a pretty dramatic week of buildup, all roads seemed to be heading to the Moi International Sports Stadium – Kasarani, after AFC Leopards on Tuesday confirmed that to be the venue of the postponed first-leg match.The announcement differed with their previous communication on Tuesday 18 February, which pinned the game at Nyayo Stadium.𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍 🔜 #𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒋𝒊𝑫𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒚 📅 2nd March 2025📌 Nyayo National Stadium Don’t miss this out Weka reminder ya mapema🤝 @betikaKe📺 @azam_Sports_ke#𝐎𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 | #𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐖𝐄 pic.twitter.com/DJFNtax8GB— AFC Leopards SC (@AFCLeopards) February 18, 2025 But as the days inched closer to Sunday, so did the level of uncertainty grow, ultimately resulting in breakdown of talks between AFC Leopards, Sports Kenya and Kenya’s CHAN Local Organising Committee (LOC).Shikanda, in an interview with Nation Sport, had asked FKF to “plan for us to play in Tanzania or Uganda, where Harambee Stars previously staged their matches,” while Gor Mahia CEO Raymond Oruo, in the aftermath on the new postponement, asked both teams to find a solution “quick and fast.”FKFPL: Tusker fail to go top despite scoring late leveler against Shabana”The second leg is almost here with us and we cannot keep postponing this game,” Oruo told Mozzart Sport. “My call is for the clubs to think of reasonable solutions and play this game. We cannot wait till the two stadia (Kasarani and Nyayo) hosts CHAN for us to finally play our derby. The timelines don’t give us that luxury.”It remains to be seen when and if this storied match takes place this season, as both clubs – with their histories going back decades – continue to suffer for the lack of facilities that would otherwise be a part of their identity.𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐁 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 Derby postponement Due to the unavailability of a match venue, we hereby postpone our match to a later date.We shall communicate the rescheduled date in due course#𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐕𝐬𝐆𝐨𝐫 | #𝐎𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 | #𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐖𝐄 pic.twitter.com/LdsXDjg3JD— AFC Leopards SC (@AFCLeopards) February 26, 2025
