It’s time for rugby to write history at the Nyayo Stadium

Nyayo National Stadium is no doubt an iconic feature in Kenyan sports.

Opened in 1983, the 30,000-seater facility was a key venue for the 1987 All Africa Games held by Nairobi.

And who will forget the drama that unfolded on the pitch during the Games that held the collective attention of an enthralled home nation?

The Kenya versus Malawi football semi-final duel readily comes to mind.

The Reinhardt Fabisch-guided Harambee Stars, given no chance by pundits and fans, had surprised all by storming into the last four.

Nyayo Stadium was filled to capacity for the 7pm kick-off match as an expectant country got behind their favourite team.

You could have heard a pin drop as Malawi pinned an out-of-sorts Kenyan outfit to the ropes.

It was more a question of when would Malawi score. No answers came as an unexpected (some say deliberate) power outage forced officials to abandon the match.

It later emerged that a damaged underground cable had caused the power failure.

Emergency repairs

Esteemed Nyayo could not suffer the fate of blackness. Three permanent secretaries – Peter Wambura (Transport and Communication) Eliakim Masale (Works, Housing and Physical planning) and Sospeter Arasa (Culture and Social Services) supervised emergency repairs to restore power.

The replay two days later again had a full subscription at Nyayo, with President Moi leading the cheering party.

Austin Oduor scored the winning goal deep into extra time to send the nation into rapture.

Kenya had qualified for the final to register their best ever outing in international football.

“Drama as Kenya romps into final” Daily Nation’s headline cried triumphantly. “In what was easily the most breath-taking event of the Fourth All Africa Games, Kenya’s Harambee Stars floored Malawi to romp into the final of the soccer championship,” Daily Nation continued.

Nyayo Stadium has seen other memorable sporting moments: Hosting the Fifa World Cup trophy; hosting the 2010 African Athletic Championships; Sofapaka defeating Ismaili this year in the only win by a local club against Egyptian side; AFC Leopards defeating fabled Asante Kotoko of Ghana; Silas Kiplagat running the fastest 1,500m time recorded at high altitude. The list goes on and on.

Rugby has now come calling. The Safaricom Sevens, touted as the premier Sevens event in Africa, will for the first time be held at Nyayo Stadium.

There have been some muted grumbles from die-hard fans who can’t imagine rugby away from the traditional RFUEA ground.

Truth be told, RFUEA ground, with its rudimentary facilities, has become too small for the ever-expanding event.

Why not try Nyayo Stadium an old but poignant sports venue?