Monday, February 9, 2009

Kenya Premier League Football

Not sure why I've waited so long to write about the opening game for our friends' Kenya Premier League soccer team.  A bit of background: one friend is the general manager of Nairobi City Stars and the other is a player (both Americans and the first ever non-Kenyans to play or manage).  It is a great ministry intended to reach the millions of football fans in Kenya.  The players of the team are believers and they have very receptive audiences in the slums when they bring the gospel and positive messages.

So, the reason for the post.  Lydia and I are huge fans of the team and attended the opening game of the new season which was held at Nairobi City Stars' stadium.  The opposing team represents and is cheered by a single tribe - the Luya.  This is the case for several teams and usually leads to passionate fans because the team's success or failure is a source of pride or shame for the tribe.  

As the 60th minute approached the game was still scoreless.  Personally, I was okay with that fact because it was clear that the AFC Leopards fans outnumbered NCS fans, no joke, 100 to 1.  And boy were they rowdy.  Tearing down signs and breaking into the stands because it had reached capacity.  In my thinking there was no good scenario.   Opposing team scores and their fans go wild and there is a riot afterwards.   NCS scores then AFC fans go wild with anger and riot afterwards.  I was partially right.  Our team scored and the opposing fans went crazy knocked over the fences and charged the field in order to end the match in hopes of it being rescheduled.  

That would have been fine but the fans proceeded to riot - throwing chairs and tearing the stadium apart.  After chasing the team into a locked room, they proceeded to come start fights with our meager cheering section.  At one point they filed out of the stands and demonstrated their anger in the street outside, blocking us from escaping to our vehicle.  

With only ten police officers, security had no hope of controlling the mayhem.  The crowd finally scattered after a teargas/gunshot was fired.  The only problem is this angered the mob enough for them to start hurling stones.  I've never seen anything like it.  Almost like in a movie when a volley of arrows comes over a castle wall.  That's what it was like but rocks over a ten foot high perimeter wall.  We found cover under the overhang of the building where the team hid.  The rocks slid off the roof in front of us and piled up as ice does in a hail storm.

Finally, we decided to brave the crowd and rushed to our car through some angry football fans.  I was worried the car's windows would be smashed, but thankfully before the game our Kenyan friend overheard a security guard mumbling about the likelihood of our car being stoned in my original parking spot.  After hearing this, I moved it to behind a building where it was safe.

I didn't dare take out our camera during the incident which I am kicking myself for now.  The picture below is from one of the local newspapers.  The reporting on the incident was horrible.  Making it seem like the fence fell over and fans "spilled" onto the field on accident.  The truth is they tore it down and charged onto the field.  The league officials recognized this and according to their rules, teams are responsible for the actions of their fans.  Hence, the game was awarded to the Nairobi City Stars and the other team has to pay for some of the repair costs.

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