Kenyan football is a mess right now, no arguing. But, our football was in trouble way before the issues that are affecting the game currently came into being.Poor leadership, both at federation and club level has been at the centre of the death of football. I could write acres of script on what bedevils the game at the federation level, but that is a story for another day. Today, my focus will be on clubs, as I compare our (Kenyan) culture to that of Serbia where I visited recently.Malkia Strikers get a chance to visit the Serbian Maracana Stadium ( Rajko Mitic Stadium officially 52k seater ), home Stadium for Red Star FC. Richard Odada anaujua huu uwanja vizuri. pic.twitter.com/CwEefL5j9C— Matheka (@Lynmatheka) September 19, 2022 For a country still rebuilding itself from the effects of war, they sure have made great strides in making sure that the most loved sport, albeit not the most successful, football is competing with the world’s best. On my visit to Belgrade, Serbia, I got a chance to visit the country’s biggest and oldest football Club’s home stadium, the Rajko Mitic Stadium, popularly known as the ‘Maracana Stadium’. I couldn’t help but think how Kenyan football and sports as a whole has a lot to learn from the multi-sport club established 77 years ago in the country’s capital. In Kenya K’Ogalo, and arch-rivals Ingwe, have not been able to build their home grounds despite land allocation over three decades ago, and that’s a lifetime for some of their supporters. Right now, the Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) clubs have said they will not take part in the 2022/23 season if it will not be sanctioned by World football governing body, FIFA, and rightfully so in my opinion. But as we point at the ills of the federation, can we take a moment and read Mathew 7:5. Quoting the English Standard Version of the holy book, “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” , but I would go as far as calling these clubs hypocrites as the verse begins, or maybe I should. Back to the Serbian Maracana, the facility houses a football, volleyball, basketball and handball facilities as the most famous from the club but more than 25 disciplines, including the highly successful water polo team sport are found at this facility, some included much later than1945 when the facility was established. The facility is named after star footballer, Mitic, who played for the club between 1947 and 1958 as a midfielder. From when the country was part of Yugoslavia, Red Belgrade clubs that range from football to athletic to freestyle wrestling have won 796 trophies, including three Intercontinental trophies, nine European trophies, 17 Regional trophies, 540 National Leagues, 212 National Cups and 15 National Super Cups and League Cups.##NAJAVA_MECA_6660248##Red Belgrade athletes have won 39 Olympic medals including six gold, 23 silver and and ten bronze medals. From the moment one gets to the club’s main (museum) entrance, one is welcomed by the beautiful monument of the man that the stadium is named after. On the left side is Red Star shop, selling all club merchandise. This season’s home, away and third kit are available at a ‘small’ fee of Ksh 8000. The training kits are also available, as are branded track suits, scurfs, keyholders, sweatshorts and more. To the left of the monument is an underground tunnel that leads on to the playing surface where Kenya’s Richard Odada spent his season last year until he was moved to Philadelphia Union in the MLS. Confirmed! Richard Odada is heading to the MLS in a $200,000 transfer!The third entrance and which we take upon arrival is to the VIP section where the club’s football museum is located. The staircase walls are doted with former players and squads that featured for the team as well as the club’s leadership over the years. Here, the Club’s domestic and international trophies, dating back to the ex-Yugoslavia era are on display and a patient guide takes us down memory lane. The biggest trophy in their collection, in terms of size, is a 1973 won in a tournament against Malaga, Boca Juniors and Espanol, weighting about 40kgs. The biggest attendance for a single match at the facility was witnessed in 1975 when over 116,000 fans showed up for a semi final match against a Hungarian team. Away from the magnificent football playing surface, the club has its production studios complete with a television studio set where all the pre-match and post match interviews and analysis is done. A walk through the @crvenazvezdafk (Red Star Belgrade) Stadium’s Museum. A thread… pic.twitter.com/SyqheWjKBf— Matheka (@Lynmatheka) September 22, 2022 Two football training grounds a fully equipped gym, a medical centre are the supporting facilities available for the Red Star players. The stadium also houses a state-of-the art volleyball indoor Arena that is also used for the other indoor sports. Back home, both Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards have reasons as to why since the late President Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi granted them pieces of land where they could come up with something similar to what Red Star have, they are yet to actualise it. In an interview in 2020, K’Ogalo president Ambrose Rachier admitted that the club had been allocated land by Moi on three different occasions. In the first two occasions, Rachier says the land, located in Embakassi, was invaded by squatters leaving the club with title deeds without a land and it became impossible to reposes the land. The third allocation in 1998, 15 acres within Kasarani sporting complex, Rachier says has been duly surveyed and allocated a land reference number but the club lacks funds to clear the land rates and begin construction. CS Wamalwa pledges to help AFC Leopards build a stadiumIt is a similar script for AFC Leopards with the latest talk of a stadium for Ingwe coming from Defence minister Eugene Wamalwa in June this year.
