But this time round Mathare United did it in Style. They convincingly beat Law enforcing side Red Berets by two goals to one. As usual Francis Ouma did the clinical finishing job for Mathare United when he netted in the two goals at the Nyayo National stadium. Red Berets scored their lone goal through a penalty

Mathare United finished the league on the first place ahead of they challengers, Sony Sugar who finished second.

Coach Francis Kimanzi is a proud man. He is arguably the most successful youth Mathare United has every produced. During his heydays as a player, he captained Mathare United to its first Moi Golden Cup trophy in 1998. He then went ahead to lead the team to represent the country in CAF Cup. He now crowns it all by being the youngest Coach in Kenya’s history books to lead a team to  a national premier league title. At only 32 he seems to just have started. He will coach the team which will represent Kenya in the lucrative Africa Champions League which starts in January. The draws are already out and they are meeting Zesco of Zambia on the 15th of January 2009.

When contacted for more information, Tusker FC’s new Head Coach James Nandwa confirmed the reports but said Tusker is yet to receive a formal offer from Azam. Tusker will then have to study the offer before giving its position.

Titus Mulama, whose contract recently ended in Sweden is also a target of Simba FC. The question is, will the Kenyan Clubs rise and offer better pay packages to their players or will they watch as the cream of the Kenyan league cross the borders and make the Tanzanian league more attractive and competitive?

Sundsvall has nobody to blame but themselves for the relegation. Their performance was not convincing and the players and the coaching staff have to go back to the drawing board and plan a comeback with a good performance in the lower league.

Mambo finished the league though as the top scorer for the club with 6 goals. Even though the league has ended Sundsvall will continue training until the end of November when the players will break for the long December holidays.

Mulama Back Home

Titus Mulama, jetted back into the country from Sweden last week immediately after the end of the Swedish third Division League. Our reporter caught up with the 28 year old midfielder at the Nyayo National Stadium last Sunday where he had gone to watch the KPL Supersports televised matches.

Titus revealed that his contract had ended with his Club, Vasterras, and would want to take a break for a few weeks before embarking on playing again. Titus’ Club did finish on the third position in the Western League and therefore missed out on the 2 promotion slots One slot went to Syrianska who topped the league and got an automatic qualification slot. Vassalunds, the runners up of the Western league were to play a playoff match against the third from bottom team from the Supperetan (second division league), to determine the second team to join Syrianska for the second division promotion. Titus is however happy to be back home with his family. Titus will make a firm decision on which club he will play for next season after talking to a few clubs which are interested in signing him both locally and abroad. “It all depends on what offers clubs make. I will have to evaluate each offer coming my way and will make a decision that will be good for me and my family”. Titus spent two years in the Swedish league.

Asked about his opinion on the local league he said, ‘The competition levels have gone very high and there are no weak teams in the league. I did follow the local league even when I was in Sweden. The Supersport deal is good for Clubs and soon we will be having many supporters back to the stadiums”.

FROM:    Secretary General
TO:        Hon. Secretaries:

The Rule of protest/appeal is universal as contained in CAF/FIFA Rules and
Regulations governing competition.  A protest/appeal must always be logged
before a football match and to the appointed match officials.  If the protest
is on the legibility of a player a photograph of the same playing standing
between Match Commissar and Referee is usually taken for verification by the
organizers.  If the protest is on a cumulated caution (yellow/red cards) it
must be again be drawn to the attention of the match officials who will write
a notification to the organizers of the tournament.  It is then up to the
organizers of the competition to ascertain the validity of the protest and
reject/award points accordingly.  No team, which did not protest at the
appropriate time, can turn around and seek points after discovery some facts
about a player if such a team did not protest before the match.  This
protest/application rule is put in place in order not to throw competition in
total disarrays.  It is then wrong for clubs, which did not protest at the
appropriate time to turn around and make belated protest.

We are in pain to explain this because we notice this trend recurring in
Kenyan League/Cups competitions and this should stop because it is not in
conformity with CAF/FIFA Rules.  Anybody who doubts this can always access
both CAF/FIFA websites.  We in KFF have put in place Rules and Regulations
governing 2008 Nationwide League and KFF Cup and that is why we are making
rulings on the matter of protest/appeals authoritatively.  We urge KPL
Management to do the same otherwise 2008 KPL shall develop into a fase.

Sammy Joel Obingo
Secretary General/ CEO

Whether this will settle or raise opinions temperatures among clubs, we all are waiting to see.

The consolation for Robert is that he just can’t stop scoring. He scored the lone goal that Sundsvall got. Orebro were the first ones to score through a penalty spot kick. Robert Mambo immediately responded after 9 minutes when he scored a brilliant equaliser. This was Mambo’s sixth goal of the season and he is now joint club top scorer together with Hannes Sigudson who happens to be Sundsvall’s most expensive striker.

A heart-breaking 90th minute goal by Orebro sunk Sundsvall. The loss leaves Sundsvall with no option but they must win their last game on Sunday away to Malmo, one of the best clubs in Sweden, and hope Lyunskile lose to Orebro on the last game of the season. If this happens Sundsvall will get a chance to play in the playoffs to determine the teams that remain in the league next season.a must-win situation in their last game.

But Mathare Youth are taking one further step. They want FIFA, KFF and CAF rules to be followed. The rules state that a player who has accumulated 3 yellow cards should automatically be suspended for 2 matches. In one of its cases the youthful side claims Tusker FC’s points. Mathare lost 3-1 to Tusker but it is reported that Tusker FC fielded Humphrey Okot, who was on three yellow cards and should have actually missed a previous match which Tusker lost 2-0 to Chemelil. Tusker then next went on to beat Mathare Youth. Okot played in both matches. In other 2 undisclosed matches the team suffered losses in similar situations and Mathare Youth still urgues that those teams should not only lose their first matches but also the second ones which happened to be against Mathare Youth. In total Mathare Youth claims 9 points which can see them survive relegation.

Unconfirmed sources even say that such moves by other clubs might see some clubs condemned to relegation, if IDAC’s ruling favours the Clubs that will appeal. KPL has promised to clean its house. But the question many people will ask is why has it taken this long? With only 3 rounds of matches left this will surely generate a lot debate.

Gor Mahia hosted Mathare youth FC in a thrilling encounter which saw Gor beat the Youthful side 4-3. Gor were cheered on with a large fan base which is continuously starting to stream back to the stadium after dumping the team when performance starting to disappoint in the last few years. The rejuvenated side were only a few months ago thought to be heading to relegation but a sudden steady and convincing upsurge has seen them jump up to the 7th spot.

The match was televised live by Supersport who are the major sponsors of the KPL League.

Other results saw Thika United sharing the spoils with Red Berets when they drew 1-1 at the Greensted’s Stadium in Nakuru.

Sher Karuturi also drew 1-1 with Ulinzi in Naivasha while Bandari and World Hope’s match in Mombasa also ended in a 1-1 draw.

Sunday matches saw Tusker beat Kenya Commercial Bank 2-1 at the Nyayo National Stadium.

 The match kicked off early in the afternoon and saw both teams opting to be very cautious in the first half which ended with no goals. Tusker FC came in forcefully in the second half and got a penalty after Simon Mburu was hacked in the penalty area by Israel Gideon. Joseph Shikokoti kept his nerves to slot in the penalty. A few minutes later in-form striker, Aggrey Ongoli gave the brewers their second goal after Simon Mburu seemed to have wasted the chance by holding on too long on the ball instead of tapping it in. The bankers got a consolation goal in the 84th minute when Joseph Njuguna beat Tusker’s custodian Oluoch Bonface in goal.

In the second match of the evening in the same stadium Mathare Uniteds’ winning streak was checked by Mahakama who made sure they shared the spoils with a 1-1 draw. Mathare were the first to score in the second half when Kevin Ochieng netted in a cross ball from hardworking Innocent Mutiso who had an outstanding afternoon.

With a few minutes on the clock remaining Mathare United’s Duncan Ochieng failed to hold on to a high ball which slipped off his hands to Francis Chinjili’s feet. Chinjili wasted no time but slot the ball in an empty net. Mathare United were evidently not themselves in the game and fatigue was evident in the manner in which the team played. Considering the fact that they travelled on Wednesday to Bungoma, played on Thursday, then travelled back on Friday the whole day and only rested yesterday, they were very content with the outcome.

Their greatest ach-rivals, Sony Sugar posted a 3-2 win against visiting Western Stima. Before the weekend Matches, Mathare United were leading Sony by 5 points. The weekend matches mean Sony has reduced the gap between them and Mathare United by 3 points. Mathare’s last 3 matches are against relegation-threatened Red Berets, Mathare Youth and high-riding Agro Chemicals in Muhoroni. Sony plays Tusker, Mathare Youth and ends at home against Sher Karuturi.

The eagerly awaited audit report for booked players from the start of the season is finally out. The Managing Director of Kenyan Premier League Ltd Mr Jacob Oguda has sent a  circular to all teams informing them of the outcome. The full report as sent to the teams follows:

KKENYAN PREMIER LEAGUE
For the good of our sport and nation

Five KPL clubs penalized for fielding suspended players

On September 24th a Gor Mahia official wrote to the KPL secretariat to point out a
discrepancy between the Master Card on yellow and red cards kept by his club and the
weekly KPL report on yellow and red cards issued by the KPL secretariat based on the
official Match Report records.

At the KPL Senior Management Committee meeting on September 27th the clubs therefore
asked the secretariat to conduct a review of the Clubs Master Cards and “agreed that
if any club is found to have ignored their Club Master Card record and fielded a
suspended player, that club will forfeit the first match in which the suspended
player was wrongly fielded and the player will immediately be suspended until he has
completed his full suspension” (see KPL/SMC/2008-09-27, para 3.3).

At the KPL Senior Management Committee meeting on October 24th the clubs “noted the
recent IDAC ruling that the official match reports by the match officials take
precedence and priority over the Club Master Cards” (see KPL/SMC/2008-10-24, para.
3.6) and, on accumulated yellow and red cards as recorded in the official Match
Reports, clubs “instructed the secretariat to verify the accuracy of their present
records and list any breaches of the rules which are to be reviewed and confirmed at
a meeting on Monday (October 27) morning of a special sub-committee consisting of
the representatives of Gor Mahia, Tusker, Ulinzi Stars and World Hope and, once
confirmed, to issue later that day an official notice to all clubs on any relevant
penalties to be applied immediately” (see KPL/SMC/2008-10-24, para. 3.8).

The results of that audit are as follows:

1. On April 20, 2008 in Match 64 between World Hope and Ulinzi Stars (2-1), World
Hope fielded Francis Thairu (00214) who was under suspension after receiving his
third yellow card in their previous match against Mathare Youth. Match 64 is
therefore awarded to Ulinzi Stars on a 2-0 basis and Francis Thairu is suspended for
the next two matches.

2. On July 3, 2008 in Match 135 between Sher Karuturi and Western Stima (1-1), Sher
Karuturi fielded Evans Majani (00150) who was under suspension after receiving his
third yellow card in their previous match against Tusker. Match 135 is therefore
awarded to Western Stima on a 2-0 basis and Evans Majani is suspended for the next
two matches.

3. On July 26, 2008 in Match 113 between Red Berets and Mathare United (1-1), Red
Berets fielded Edward Munjalo (00085) who was under suspension after receiving his
third yellow card in their previous match against Mathare Youth. Match 113 is
therefore awarded to Mathare United on a 2-0 basis and Edward Munjalo is suspended
for the next two matches.

4. On August 10, 2008 in Match 143 between Bandari and Thika United (0-1), Bandari
fielded Abdul Wahab Musa (00190) who was under suspension after receiving his third
yellow card in their previous match against Mahakama. Match 143 is therefore awarded
to Thika United on a 2-0 basis and Abdul Wahab Musa is suspended for the next two
matches.

5. On August 31, 2008 in Match 159 between Mahakama and Ulinzi Stars (2-1), Mahakama
fielded Silas Chege (00313) who was under suspension after receiving his third
yellow card in their previous match against Thika United. Ulinzi Stars fielded Kevin
Ouma (00123) in the same match who was under suspension after receiving his third
yellow card in their previous match against Sony Sugar. The match results therefore
stand as both clubs fielded ineligible players and Silas Chege of Mahakama is
suspended for the
next two matches and Kevin Ouma of Ulinzi Stars is suspended for the next two matches.

6. On August 31, 2008 in Match 160 between Bandari and Sher Karuturi (0-0), Sher
Karuturi fielded Evans Majani (00150) who was under suspension after receiving his
sixth yellow card in their previous match against KCB. Match 160 is therefore
awarded to Bandari on a 2-0 basis and Evans Majani is suspended for the next three
matches.

7. On September 13, 2008 in Match 163 between KCB and Gor Mahia (0-0), KCB fielded
George Odari (00295) who was under suspension after receiving his third yellow card
in their previous match against World Hope. Match 163 is therefore awarded to Gor
Mahia on a 2-0 basis and George Odari is suspended for the next two matches.

8. On September 21, 2008 in Match 183 between Tusker and Chemelil Sugar (0-2),
Tusker fielded Humphrey Okot (00330) who was under suspension after receiving his
third yellow card in their previous match against Bandari. Chemelil Sugar fielded
Mike Mururi (00039) in the same match who was under suspension after receiving his
third yellow card in their previous match against Western Stima and had served his
suspension for only one match. The match results therefore stand as both clubs
fielded ineligible players and Humprey Okot of Tusker is suspended for the next two
matches and Mike Mururi of Chemelil Sugar is suspended for the next match.

9. On September 28, 2008 in Match 174 between Gor Mahia and Western Stima (1-0), Gor
Mahia fielded Francis Akango (00332) who was under suspension after receiving his
third yellow card in their previous match against Sony Sugar. Match 174 is therefore
awarded to Western Stima on a 2-0 basis and Francis Akango is suspended for the next
two matches.

As agreed by clubs at the KPL meeting on October 24th, the above penalties and
suspensions are effective immediately. However, authorized club representatives are
welcome to come to the KPL office and verify the above results from the official
Match Report records. If any error is then detected and confirmed, any erroneous
result reported and applied above will be corrected.

Summary
7 clubs neither lost nor gained points
Agro Chemical, Chemelil Sugar, Mahakama, Mathare Youth, Sony Sugar, Thika United,
Tusker

3 clubs were deducted 1 point ­ Gor Mahia, KCB, Red Berets
1 club was deducted 2 points ­ Sher Karuturi
1 club was deducted 3 points ­ World Hope

2 clubs were awarded 2 points ­ Bandari, Mathare United
1 club was awarded 3 points ­ Ulinzi Stars
1 club was awarded 5 points ­ Western Stima

The following six clubs respected the rules and never fielded a suspended
player: Agro Chemical, Mathare United, Mathare Youth, Sony Sugar, Thika United, Western Stima

The fast rising striker also hit the back of the net in Conakry, Guinea when Kenya lost 3-2 to Guinea in the last match of the second round of World Cup/African Cup of Nations qualifiers match. Kenya had already garnered enough points to see them through to the last 20 in the qualifiers before playing Guinea.

But Mathare United’s coach Francis Kimanzi only knows too well that early celebrations in football cannot be entertained before the last game. He has professionally maintained his silence in the media over his team’s performances and has let his team’s results do the talking.

Kimanzi, who also took the Kenyan National team Harambee Stars to the last 20 teams for the last group stages of the World Cup and African Nation’s Cup Qualifiers, has remained tight-lipped over his team’s achievements. His direct approach when dealing with his team on and off the pitch has been a major contributor in shaping his team’s discipline and a season capped with a lot of success.