Joy as Harambee Stars bring regional football trophy home
Visibly dejected Zanzibar players huddle after losing the third post-match penalty to Harambee Stars during the Cecafa finals played at Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos County, on December 17. Kenya won 3-2 against the Heroes. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Deputy President William Ruto joined thousands of fans at Kenyatta Stadium for the epic final of Africa’s oldest regional tournament that ended in a 2-2 draw in regulation and extra time of play.
- Goalkeeper Patrick Matasi palmed away three spot kicks to earn the Stars a 3-2 victory in the shootout.
- Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko provided 100 mini-buses to ferry some 350 supporters from Nairobi to the stadium, about 60 kilometres away, for free.
Harambee Stars finally came out of the shadows in dramatic fashion yesterday to hand millions of success-starved Kenyan football fans the East and Central Africa Senior Challenge Cup after reaching the final on a clean sheet.
The Kenya side defeated surprise finalists Zanzibar in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in Machakos County, having cruised into the final without conceding a goal.
Kenya last won the title in 2013.
Deputy President William Ruto joined thousands of fans at Kenyatta Stadium for the epic final of Africa’s oldest regional tournament that ended in a 2-2 draw in regulation and extra time of play, prompting the dreaded lottery of a penalty shootout to break the stalemate.
Perhaps motivated by the national football team’s recent resurgence under the tutelage of new coach Paul Put, thousands of Kenyans shed their political and other differences to rally behind the Stars.
But they had to endure a roller-coaster of emotions as the Indian Ocean island side came from behind twice to level the scores 1-1 and then 2-2, forcing the game into penalties.
MATASI
Goalkeeper Patrick Matasi palmed away three spot kicks to earn the Stars a 3-2 victory in the shootout.
The winners were presented with the trophy and medals by Mr Ruto, who donned a red Harambee Stars tracksuit top emblazoned with his initials, ‘WR’.
Harambee Stars earned Sh3 million for their victory with more cash awards expected following pre-tournament cash pledges from, among others, the Deputy President and also Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko.
Ahead of last evening’s final, Stars fans flooded social media with goodwill and congratulatory messages particularly aimed at the hosts.
Powered by a triple attack force of Masoud Juma, Vincent Oburu and Kepha Aswani, the Stars made the final after beating Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi and drawing with Zanzibar and Libya in their five matches.
GOODIES
Mr Sonko and his Machakos colleague Alfred Mutua dished out goodies to the home supporters.
In his characteristic philanthropy, Mr Sonko provided 100 mini-buses to ferry some 350 supporters from Nairobi to the stadium, about 60 kilometres away, for free.
Similarly, Dr Mutua announced free entry to the terraces at the 8,000-seater facility for all fans.
The two county bosses had each promised to give the players Sh2 million if they beat Zanzibar.
“This excitement you are witnessing best narrates how sports, and football, can bring Kenyans together,” Confederation of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) secretary-general Nicholas Musonye said.
CHEERED
Mr Musonye, a veteran international football administrator who was a sports writer at the Daily Nation, added: “As you are aware, we staged some of the games in Kisumu earlier this week and I can confirm that residents there forgot about politics and focused on football.
Deputy President William Ruto and Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua cheer Harambee Stars during the Cecafa final at Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos, on December 17, 2017 PHOTO | DPPS
“Almost 15,000 of them came to Moi Stadium and cheered on all the teams for two consecutive days. It was a carnival mood.”
Perhaps stunned by the early festive mood among Kenyans, Zanzibar’s President Ali Mohamed Shein had no choice but to ‘retaliate’ with a promise of goodies to the team — who are nicknamed Hereos — whom he described as the “true heroes”.
President Shein was quoted by sections of Tanzanian media as promising his players “donge nono” (a fat pay cheque) in the event that they pulled off an unlikely win against the hosts.
PLANE RIDE
He also assured the national team that resources would be provided to ensure they are accorded air transport back home — in contrast to the bumpy 1,400-kilometre ride the contingent endured on their way to the competition barely two weeks ago.
The Zanzibaris’ journey involved sailing across the Indian Ocean to mainland Tanzania by sea boat and enduring a bus ride to Mombasa and another 500-kilometre road trip to Machakos.
Coming barely a month after Kenya had been stripped of the rights to host next year’s Africa Nations Championship (Chan) tournament, this year’s edition of the annual regional tournament provided quality entertainment ahead of the festive season.
Over the two weeks, Kenyans witnessed some top-notch football played by some of the emerging talents in East and Central Africa.
THRONGED STADIUM
They included the Harambee Stars trio of Matasi, Duncan Ochieng and Dennis Sikhayi, Uganda forward Derrick Nsimbabi and Burundi hitman Laudvit Mavugo, who has since joined AFC Leopards.
Mr Mavugo’s compatriot Abdoul Fiston Razak, alongside Zanzibar captain Mudathir Yahya, were also a joy to watch.
The county governments of Kakamega, Kisumu and Machakos also played a huge role in hosting the matches.
The decision ultimately proved successful, as witnessed when fans thronged the refurbished Bukhungu Stadium (Kakamega) as it hosted its first international matches in more than two decades.
