Marked for Christopher Koloti
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 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 Kariobangi Sharks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 May 2027
Taoufik Safsafi 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.
Match22 May 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad24 May 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.
Squad24 May 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Kariobangi Sharks told Christopher Koloti something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Marked 5.29, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match8 May 2027
10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad10 May 2027
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Sebastian Wekesa: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match5 May 2027
1‑1 against Tusker, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Market10 May 2027
Wayne Mbuya has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kariobangi Sharks they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad10 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 Kariobangi Sharks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 May 2027
Taoufik Safsafi 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.
Squad10 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sebastian Wekesa, and the manager let it.
Player ratings10 May 2027
It was his to settle and he did not settle it. A long walk back to the halfway line, and a considerably longer week.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market3 May 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 Kariobangi Sharks, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match1 May 2027
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Kariobangi Sharks are no longer polite ones.
The terraces3 May 2027
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 6 of the 25 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad3 May 2027
Sebastian Wekesa 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 May 2027
Words at Kariobangi Sharks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Taoufik Safsafi 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.
Squad3 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Faiz Opande, and the manager let it.
Squad3 May 2027
Marley Leuluai named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Marley Leuluai is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Apr 2027
A fracture rules Patillah Omoto out for 17 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kariobangi Sharks will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match24 Apr 2027
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Kariobangi Sharks are no longer polite ones.
Squad26 Apr 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 Kariobangi Sharks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joseph Mwangi, and the manager let it.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Home is on Dan Erez's mind
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Kariobangi Sharks are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Match24 Apr 2027
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Kakamega Homeboyz defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 12 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
5.72 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
5.75 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Mar 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 52 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad22 Mar 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 Kariobangi Sharks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Taoufik Safsafi 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Keegan Ndemi 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.
Match20 Mar 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Kenya Police came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
5.75. Every footballer has these and most of them happen away from a full ground; his did not, and he will be aware of that all week.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Sep 2026
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Kariobangi Sharks are no longer polite ones.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Taoufik Safsafi 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
0‑2 to Gor Mahia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match9 Sep 2026
AFC Leopards go through and Kariobangi Sharks go home, 1‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Taoufik Safsafi 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Kariobangi Sharks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luke Onesmas 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.
Match12 Sep 2026
APS Bomet held the lead for 1 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Kariobangi Sharks answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
7 new faces, and Kariobangi Sharks are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Match12 Sep 2026
It needed Keegan Ndemi to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against APS Bomet, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 5.48, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces7 Sep 2026
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 7 of the 22 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Market7 Sep 2026
The bid was some way short and Kariobangi Sharks did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad7 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kariobangi Sharks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match5 Sep 2026
0‑1 to Sofapaka, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Faiz Opande
“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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Patillah Omoto named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Patillah Omoto is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Squad7 Sep 2026
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.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Marked 5.35. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad17 Aug 2026
Kaycie 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.
Market17 Aug 2026
Kariobangi Sharks paid $43.0K and AFC Leopards took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match15 Aug 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Samuel Ssenyonjo. 2‑0 against Bidco United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Boniface Munyendo was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.35. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Levis Esambe 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 ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market17 Aug 2026
No place for Levis Esambe in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Levis Esambe has his answer from AFC Leopards; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Brian Wanyama
“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
Squad17 Aug 2026
Taoufik Safsafi 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.
Match15 Aug 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
This league is too small for Marley Leuluai
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Kariobangi Sharks will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market17 Aug 2026
Dan Erez is 20, and Kariobangi Sharks have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Squad17 Aug 2026
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad10 Aug 2026
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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
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.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.85 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The terraces10 Aug 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Ssenyonjo has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match8 Aug 2026
A 2‑0 win over Kariobangi Sharks, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Market10 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. AFC Leopards have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Marked 8.53 — 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.
Match8 Aug 2026
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Kariobangi Sharks tried to reorganise, AFC Leopards did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Musa Oundo 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.