Marked for Mohammed Barisa
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout20 Nov 2028
This is not rotation. Victor Mbaoma has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Tusker is pretending otherwise.
Squad20 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Thomas Teka falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Loan watch20 Nov 2028
8 shut-outs in 32 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Simphiwe Dumisa has been having a lot of them.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
When it matters, Dennis Oalo plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Tusker, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout30 Oct 2028
This is not rotation. Vincent Owino has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Tusker is pretending otherwise.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Tusker
Abud Omar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom30 Oct 2028
Belts tighten at Tusker
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
Squad30 Oct 2028
A row about effort at Tusker
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thomas Teka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom30 Oct 2028
108% of the income goes out in wages at Tusker
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Squad30 Oct 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” David Polepole commits to Tusker for another 3 years.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Collins Odhiambo is on it.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Brian Marani
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
Dennis Oalo asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match9 Oct 2028
The season ends: position 7 for Tusker
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 48 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Market9 Oct 2028
Ronny Otieno hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tusker can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
Ronny Otieno: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tusker have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Words exchanged at Tusker
Ian Simiyu Jr. and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Felix Mulyungi commits to Tusker for another 2 years.
Squad9 Oct 2028
A row about effort at Tusker
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thomas Teka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
This is not rotation. Douglas Omanga has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Tusker is pretending otherwise.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
Eric Kapaito gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Eric Kapaito is on it.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Sep 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Tusker, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets11 Sep 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Vitebsk have kept their man, and Tusker go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Abud Omar falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
This is not rotation. Douglas Omanga has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Tusker is pretending otherwise.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
The manager makes an example of Dennis Magio
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
Eric Kapaito has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Tusker will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market11 Sep 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market26 Jun 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market26 Jun 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AFC Leopards they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. James Kinyanjui has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at AFC Leopards is pretending otherwise.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Hassan Beja and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match24 Jun 2028
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 7 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Match24 Jun 2028
1‑2 to Sofapaka, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaycie Odhiambo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom26 Jun 2028
Wages swallow 108% of the AFC Leopards income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings22 May 2028
Two goals and a mark of 8.71 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market22 May 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AFC Leopards can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 May 2028
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match22 May 2028
AFC Leopards refuse to drop out of the race
Position 3, 29 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The dugout22 May 2028
This is not rotation. Humphrey Katasi has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at AFC Leopards is pretending otherwise.
Match20 May 2028
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now AFC Leopards have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad22 May 2028
Hassan Beja and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match20 May 2028
AFC Leopards keep winning on the road
4 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.
Match20 May 2028
Three points for AFC Leopards, 2‑1 the final word against Tusker in a contest settled by the finer margins.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings1 May 2028
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.62, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
The dugout1 May 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” AFC Leopards may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market1 May 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Brian Ojok Nyogesa will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AFC Leopards the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout1 May 2028
This is not rotation. James Kinyanjui has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at AFC Leopards is pretending otherwise.
Squad1 May 2028
Hassan Beja and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 May 2028
29 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout1 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Mohammed Barisa
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad1 May 2028
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
In brief
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Boardroom
93% of the income goes out in wages at AFC Leopards
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Squad
A row about effort at AFC Leopards
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Two goals and a mark of 8.68 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” AFC Leopards may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. Humphrey Katasi has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at AFC Leopards is pretending otherwise.
Match22 Apr 2028
It finished 3‑1, and it was Hassan Beja’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to AFC Leopards.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Samuel Ssenyonjo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Marked 8.47 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” John Manyama kept it short after the 3‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Boardroom24 Apr 2028
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at AFC Leopards now.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
Lebo Mohlala gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market27 Mar 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AFC Leopards is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market27 Mar 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at AFC Leopards, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
This is not rotation. Humphrey Katasi has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at AFC Leopards is pretending otherwise.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Hassan Beja and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad27 Mar 2028
A muscle injury and 14 days out for Mohammed Barisa
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. AFC Leopards will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Kaycie Odhiambo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Boardroom27 Mar 2028
The numbers do not look good at AFC Leopards
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Samuel Ssenyonjo asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Julius Masaba has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at AFC Leopards will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Mar 2028
9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market13 Mar 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AFC Leopards is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Hassan Beja in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AFC Leopards this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
This is not rotation. Brian Wanyama has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at AFC Leopards is pretending otherwise.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Humphrey Katasi, and the manager let it.
Match11 Mar 2028
Gor Mahia left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at AFC Leopards training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kaycie Odhiambo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by John Manyama to a room that had heard them before.
Market13 Mar 2028
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ronald Sichenje has his answer from AFC Leopards; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Feb 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 32 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad21 Feb 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Victor Amuka
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AFC Leopards lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match19 Feb 2028
Three points for AFC Leopards, 1‑0 the final word against Sofapaka in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Words at AFC Leopards training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kaycie Odhiambo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad21 Feb 2028
A goalkeeper's career is counted in the games nobody scored in, and Humphrey Katasi now has 25 of them across 43 appearances. Nothing about that number was luck.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mohammed Barisa, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
A mark of 7.75, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Jan 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mathare United can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom24 Jan 2028
Pressure builds in the Mathare United boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market24 Jan 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Mathare United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Mohammed Kilume was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at Mathare United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohammed Barisa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Mathare United are still strangers to each other
7 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
Musa Masika knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Musa Masika trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market24 Jan 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with John Macharia’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Jan 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Mathare United have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Transfer targets10 Jan 2028
AFC Leopards have accepted the money. What Mathare United do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Market10 Jan 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Mohammed Kilume and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout10 Jan 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Kamohelo Hoala's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Squad10 Jan 2028
The formation has left Victor Ngume behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Mathare United will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The dugout10 Jan 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Mathare United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market10 Jan 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with John Makwatta’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Jan 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Mathare United, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
This is not rotation. Brian Ndenga has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Mathare United is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets3 Jan 2028
Mathare United asked and Posta Rangers said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Bernard Odhiambo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Words at Mathare United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aineah Ndete is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
Peter Oudu asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
Open for business: Mathare United enter the window
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom27 Dec 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Mathare United
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad27 Dec 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mathare United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Mohammed Barisa falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Mathare United are still strangers to each other
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Boardroom27 Dec 2027
Wages swallow 85% of the Mathare United income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout27 Dec 2027
Peter Oudu knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Mathare United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout27 Dec 2027
Nobody at Mathare United will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market27 Dec 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until John Macharia signs something — a contract at Mathare United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market27 Dec 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Brian Ndenga may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Dennis Amuka has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market6 Dec 2027
Alex Warai hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mathare United can pretend not to have heard.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Clement Zubah arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Clement Zubah has, at Mathare United, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Mohammed Kilume and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 35 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Mathare United is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Words at Mathare United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohammed Barisa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Mohammed Barisa
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
Mohammed Kilume loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Mohammed Kilume's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
Musa Masika asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Nov 2027
Mohammed Kilume was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
This is not rotation. Elvis Ronack has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Mathare United is pretending otherwise.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
Musa Masika gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Musa Masika is on it.
Market22 Nov 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
Kamohelo Hoala knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Mathare United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market22 Nov 2027
The Peter Oudu talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mathare United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market22 Nov 2027
It is the least glamorous business a club does and the reason seasons do not collapse in February. Bob Cetric is here for the weeks when three men are injured and somebody still has to play.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout15 Nov 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Mathare United may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad15 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mathare United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Kamohelo Hoala is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Peter Oudu asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market15 Nov 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mathare United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market15 Nov 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Brian Ndenga may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Nov 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mathare United can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
Pressure builds in the Mathare United boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad1 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mathare United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
Wages swallow 86% of the Mathare United income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Mathare United will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Mathare United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
Nobody at Mathare United will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market1 Nov 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until John Macharia signs something — a contract at Mathare United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A strip of cloth that decides nothing on the pitch and tells the dressing room whose opinion counts. The manager has made a statement without making one.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match18 Oct 2027
The season ends: position 11 for Mathare United
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 39 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Market18 Oct 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Mathare United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Mohammed Kilume and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match16 Oct 2027
KCB made Mathare United work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
Marked 7.53. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Dennis Amuka on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Market18 Oct 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mathare United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Mathare United
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” John Makwatta commits to Mathare United for another 2 years.
Match2 Oct 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Bernard Odhiambo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mohammed Barisa, and the manager let it.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
104% of the income goes out in wages at Mathare United
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Peter Oudu named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Peter Oudu is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Market4 Oct 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Mathare United, another week without a signature from Mohammed Barisa.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market6 Sep 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Mathare United people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Mathare United
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market6 Sep 2027
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Sofapaka moved on, Donald Ange Paterne reports back to Mathare United, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 11 signed and 8 gone
That is the business done at Mathare United until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Squad6 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mathare United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Sep 2027
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Douglas Mokaya was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Wages eat 91% of everything Mathare United earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Victor Omune slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Victor Omune is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market30 Aug 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bandari have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
The game went through Erick Balecho — 6.69
Marked 6.69 on 16 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Squad30 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Bandari
Amza Moubarack and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Bandari training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hassan Abdallah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match28 Aug 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Boardroom30 Aug 2027
Wages eat 92% of everything Bandari earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad30 Aug 2027
A quiet fortnight at Bandari
With 4 players away on international duty the sessions are small and the manager can actually hear himself. It is the one break in the season, and it never quite feels like one.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
Said Tsuma gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match21 Aug 2027
4‑0, and Nyamawi Beja took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Bandari tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Nyamawi Beja takes the match ball home
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Marked 9.51 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad23 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Bandari
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hassan Abdallah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.12 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market23 Aug 2027
Shabana are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Bandari will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Bandari
Geoffrey Ojunga and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Ochieng Masika kept it short after the 4‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Faraj Ominde gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market9 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Bandari
Amza Moubarack and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
This is not rotation. Mohammed Barisa has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bandari is pretending otherwise.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bertrand Konfor Ngafei and Bandari agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Bandari training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hassan Abdallah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match7 Aug 2027
Sofapaka left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Cameron Carnell did the work nobody counts — 7.00
11 combined actions and 7.00. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ochieng Masika after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of David Sakwa
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market2 Aug 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bandari have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.74, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market2 Aug 2027
Bandari say no — this time
The offer from Kariobangi Sharks for Nyamawi Beja was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Match31 Jul 2027
Nobody wants to play Bandari right now
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Bandari
Amza Moubarack and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match31 Jul 2027
It finished 3‑2, and it was Nyamawi Beja’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bandari.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bertrand Konfor Ngafei and Bandari agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Bandari training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hassan Abdallah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
Levis Opiyo gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
In brief
-
Boardroom
93% of the income goes out in wages at Bandari
-
Squad
A place in the month's best eleven for Hassan Abdallah
-
The dugout
The manager’s verdict
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bandari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match24 Jul 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Nyamawi Beja. 1‑0 against Kakamega Homeboyz, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Bandari training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bertrand Konfor Ngafei is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.62 on the card, and the Bandari support went home talking about one name.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Ochieng Masika kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Market26 Jul 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Bandari will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad26 Jul 2027
One booking too many, and a game watched from the stand. Bandari lose him for the most avoidable reason in the sport.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Jul 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match7 Jul 2027
Bandari bow out of the cup
Tusker go through and Bandari go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Alain Ngeleka breaks a bone — 22 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 22 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market12 Jul 2027
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Bidco United had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Match10 Jul 2027
6 matches without a win for Bandari
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Bandari are no longer polite ones.
Market12 Jul 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Bandari
Amza Moubarack and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Bandari training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hassan Abdallah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match10 Jul 2027
0‑2 to AFC Leopards, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match3 Jul 2027
13 unbeaten for Bandari
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 13 matches without defeat is a foundation Bandari did not have in the autumn.
Squad5 Jul 2027
29 days out for Alain Ngeleka after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bandari will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market5 Jul 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bandari, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market5 Jul 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Match3 Jul 2027
4 matches without a win for Bandari
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Bandari are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Geoffrey Ojunga was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Bandari
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bertrand Konfor Ngafei was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
94% of the income goes out in wages at Bandari
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Jun 2027
44 days out for Alain Ngeleka after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bandari will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match21 Jun 2027
Bandari are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 36 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Match19 Jun 2027
Whatever happens, Bandari do not lose
11 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings21 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match19 Jun 2027
Nobody wins at Bandari
10 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Amza Moubarack was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Bandari
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hassan Abdallah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Match19 Jun 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Kenya Police leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad3 May 2027
A fracture rules Alain Ngeleka out for 94 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bandari will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match1 May 2027
Bandari win it in stoppage time
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 91th minute. Gor Mahia will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Player ratings3 May 2027
A brace, and Alfred Emoni takes the afternoon — 8.41
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Alfred Emoni provided it, and the 8.41 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The dugout3 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bandari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad3 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bandari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Levis Opiyo and Bandari agree another 2 years.
Match1 May 2027
It finished 2‑1, and it was Alfred Emoni’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bandari.
Squad3 May 2027
Cameron Carnell named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Cameron Carnell is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout3 May 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Ochieng Masika on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Mar 2027
34 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bandari lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.75 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market8 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Hassan Abdallah commits to Bandari for another 3 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Bandari
Amza Moubarack and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Hassan Abdallah falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match6 Mar 2027
A 2‑2 draw with AFC Leopards leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
85% of the income goes out in wages at Bandari
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Izzadin Juma, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad1 Mar 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Clifford Otieno
42 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bandari lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad1 Mar 2027
A fracture rules Mohammed Barisa out for 15 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bandari will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market1 Mar 2027
Nyamawi Beja hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bandari can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Bandari
Amza Moubarack and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match27 Feb 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Nyamawi Beja. 1‑0 against Tusker, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Marked 7.87. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Levis Opiyo slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Levis Opiyo is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Ochieng Masika, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Geoffrey Ojunga
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Feb 2027
Clifford Otieno damages knee ligaments — 49 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 49 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A fracture rules Mohammed Barisa out for 22 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bandari will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market22 Feb 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bandari, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Amza Moubarack was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Bandari
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hassan Abdallah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match20 Feb 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Nyamawi Beja gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Ochieng Masika left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Feb 2027
Clifford Otieno damages knee ligaments — 56 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 56 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad15 Feb 2027
29 days out for Mohammed Barisa after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bandari will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad15 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bandari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Bandari
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hassan Abdallah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match13 Feb 2027
Kenya Police left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Levis Opiyo, and the manager let it.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Ochieng Masika left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Hassan Abdallah is on it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Feb 2027
64 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bandari lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match6 Feb 2027
5‑0, and Cameron Carnell took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Bandari tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad8 Feb 2027
The match ball belongs to Cameron Carnell, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
Graduation day at Bandari
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Market8 Feb 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Clinton Kibwage is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market8 Feb 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Elvis Mulee has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market8 Feb 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Kevin Amuka has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market8 Feb 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Joseph Omurwa has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Feb 2027
71 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bandari lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad1 Feb 2027
43 days out for Mohammed Barisa after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bandari will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Bandari until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Bandari
Amza Moubarack and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Bandari training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hassan Abdallah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
Nyamawi Beja gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Nyamawi Beja is on it.
Market1 Feb 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Amza Moubarack’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Mohammed Katana has written the date down.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
Alain Ngeleka asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Jan 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Clifford Otieno
78 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bandari lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 50 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Amza Moubarack was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Brian Otieno Odera's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Alfred Emoni has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Bandari will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Jan 2027
86 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bandari lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Mohammed Barisa out for 57 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bandari will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad18 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bandari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jan 2027
93 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bandari lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad11 Jan 2027
67 days out for Mohammed Barisa after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bandari will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad11 Jan 2027
William Gitama is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Bandari
Amza Moubarack and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
Andrew Juma gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Andrew Juma is on it.
Market11 Jan 2027
The name of William Wadri keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bandari say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Jan 2027
Clifford Otieno damages knee ligaments — 100 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 100 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad4 Jan 2027
74 days out for Mohammed Barisa after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bandari will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Bandari
Amza Moubarack and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Hassan Abdallah falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Nyamawi Beja has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Bandari will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
A promise honoured at Bandari
Something was said to Shariff Amubwombe and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.