Elmaldinho Dos Santos

Baller has the World under his feet this one... May the gods of football bless him with longevity, fitness, injury-free career, and the hunger to keep improving. Na macoach pia wampende....since the times of Paul Were and Ayub Masika, we have failed to find a lethal left winger until this guy Job showed up out of nowhere.

Opinion. Zack Vyner's calmness, versatility and confidence is needed in the Harambee Stars.... Mr Salim Mvurya, kindly find a way to make sure the issues blocking him from playing for Kenya are resolved

So UEFA has decided to give Arsenal the UCL trophy on a silver platter, but I feel the gunners will still bottle it.

Photo courtesy of UEFA

Collins Sichenje called on for his debut for Chalton

This is Leigh Sports village (12,000 Seater). Home of Man United women, U21s and U18s. How much would it cost a Kenyan club to own such a stadium?

It is very interesting that a County League club has some classy jerseys, better than some Sportpesa League and most NSL clubs. And they have 2 sponsors, while some PL clubs struggle to attract even a single sponsor.

I cannot remember the last time United scored 2 team goals in one match, someone please remind me. It is always a corner; Bruno whips a free kick in or a header just pops up, Dalot's long throws and chaos inside the box cause goals, or Cunha, Zirkzee, Amad, or Mbeumo just come up with a moment of magic.
In short, Team goals under the Amorim system were rare, very rare (besides set pieces). Yesterday, I saw 2 beautiful goals from a Man who looked like a passenger in Amorim's system. I saw 2 goals cleared off the line from very inspiring team moves.
When the going got tougher, the gaffer brought in a teenager and reminded me of how I used to do in my FM24 career mode when bringing in a sub: "tell you what, lad, I have faith in you to make an impact in this match in the little time remaining, but there is no pressure of expectation on you; just play your natural game." The boy nearly scored 2 goals in just 14 minutes, yet Amorim kept telling us the academy is full of sh*tty, unprepared, and "entitled" kids. It was a draw, yes, but I saw a more balanced team, where players at least seemed to understand their roles in that pitch. I do not care if United finishes 15th again this season or gets in the top 4. What I know is Amorim was a cowardly, arrogant and entitled coach who gave up on our club a long time ago, a person who would rather die with what he knows than adapt to new ideas. I will not miss him, and I do not expect that he will miss this club, so GOOD RIDDANCE! Bring on the next one until we get the right man.

Seven reasons Why I am happy Amorim has been fired:
1. Very arrogant, ignorant, and emotionally/mentally unstable
2. Would rather lose a match than play any other system than the one he is used to.
3. Never maximized players' strengths.
4. The poorest man management I have ever seen.
5. The poorest win ratio of all United managers since 1990
6. His system was never going to work, even if the board gave him $3 billion to sign new players.
7. He threw in the towel a long time ago and just wanted to be fired and receive his compensation package.

I have to air my Opinion about this issue of "affordable seats" at the Talanta "international stadium." Look, I am not surprised by the way, it is the Kenyan standard, and I expect even worse. It turns out it is our way of doing things, and in the near future you might even expect court orders stopping the construction, but the reason for that is not what you expect.
But how did we get here?
First, the stadium has been constructed specifically for AFCON 27. You just need to meet CAF standards, and for that, these seats at least meet these standards, even if they are not "modern." Expect the same low standard even for the playing surface, floodlights and other amenities. They will focus on just achieving the bare minimum of CAF requirements and not the top quality or modern tech. This stadium and its purpose are just political tools to keep someone in office after the 2027 elections. After 2027, expect it to be used for political rallies, national celebrations and the so-called "national prayers and crusades" and less footballing action.
However, you cannot blame anyone in authority for that. I mean, the Kenyan football fraternity does not respect or value its football, so why would someone who is not a fan or a stakeholder value it? If a fan does not want to pay the stadium entrance fee or respect and protect the facility upon entry, why would someone risk putting in the most modern and more expensive facilities? If a fan who paid less than Ksh. 500 vandalizes a Ksh. 3000 seat, how will repairs be funded? If a club cannot fill even a quarter of the stadium when hosting matches there, how will they afford to hire a stadium with world-class facilities?
I have seen Kenyan Premier League games played in sh*tty grounds which are bumpy, half green and with poorly maintained grass, while others have dangerous artificial turfs which are in very bad shape. Teams do not care about playing in such conditions, and the Federation is okay with approving such pathetic pitches. So, why would the government care to put up a world-class surface when the people involved in the sport do not care? if a Kikuyu grass bumpy surface will work for Kenyan teams (who are the primary beneficiaries of stadiums), why bother looking for the quality of grass found in Wembley or Allianz Arena?
The bottom line is, until Kenyan Football sets itself some standards, no one will take it seriously and no one will invest serious money in it. Expect poor standards until the day you start treating the game as a professional industry, until you put the right structures in place to challenge investors to consider the sport as a serious area of investment. Otherwise for now, get used to substandard facilities and appreciate them because it is the best the government can (even more than what they should) offer, based on the little revenue that is raised through football.

FKF should take notes