How hooliganism is destroying Kenyan football

Unfortunate riotous scenes were witnessed on Sunday, 21 December at Dandora Stadium during an FKF Premier League match between Nairobi United and Gor Mahia.

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Fans of both clubs engaged in ugly brawls, a matter that is now under investigation, causing the match to be abandoned in the 58th minute, with scores of fans injured.

The hooliganism acts extended to outside the stadium after the abandonment of the high-stakes clash, with the police working around the clock to salvage the situation before it could get out of hand.

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From the onset, such acts and behaviour have no place in football and sports in general. Sports should be used as a tool to unite people and should never be a cause for bloodshed.

As the football fraternity continues to condemn hooliganism, Mozzart Sport takes a look at how the retrogressive vice is destroying Kenyan football.

Brand damage to Kenyan football

To make Kenyan football scale the heights of top leagues across the world, our game must be made appealing so that people want to be associated with the brand.

When positive scenes and stories emanate from the game, the appeal grows, and football, in turn, blooms from height to height.

However, when acts of hooliganism crop up, as seen in Sunday's encounter, the image of football in the country is damaged, and a bad paint is applied to Kenyan football at large.

For instance, Kenyan football has been in the headlines since the Sunday afternoon skirmishes, all for the bad reasons, thus creating a bad public image

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Reduced fan attendance

Football is a sport. Not a war zone. People go to stadiums to watch the game and to get entertained.

When acts of hooliganism occur in the stadium, fans tend to back off and sit at home, choosing to follow proceedings either on television or finding other safer forms of entertainment.

Like any other person, fans want a peaceful stadium environment for them to come together with their families and friends.

Scares away sponsors

For the game to grow, we need corporate sponsors and partners to fund clubs and the league in general.

However, no sponsor/partner would want to be associated with the chaos witnessed on Sunday, as this would greatly affect their brand and image.

FKF Premier League broadcast partners Azam TV, whose Outside Broadcasting (OB) bus was partially destroyed during the fracas, have already issued a statement condemning the violence and may pull out should such conduct persist.

For this reason, all stakeholders must do whatever it takes to kick hooliganism out of Kenyan football.

Sanctions from FKF

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has already charged Nairobi United and Gor Mahia for the violence experienced in the match, and both look likely to suffer some financial sanctions from the federation.

Funds which could have otherwise been utilised for other important activities will end up being spent by the clubs because of a section of rogue fans.

When such acts extend into continental and global matches, clubs and FKF receive heavy sanctions from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), as was the case during the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) when Kenya lost millions in fines due to crowd trouble.

Negative influence on the upcoming generation

Just like it has been in the majority of such matches, there was a good number of kids in the stadium in that particular game, and the ugly scenes will definitely linger in their minds for a long time.

For sustainability, the game needs the kids to be in the stadiums to watch matches in order to secure the future of both players and supporters in the country.

When the upcoming generation grows up seeing scenes of hooliganism, they may choose to follow a different path or could even remain in the game but with lessons of hooliganism. As such, all efforts must be put towards ensuring our stadiums are safe.