2008 in Kenyan football explained

Country:Kenya
Season:2008
Division1:Premier League
Champions1:Mathare United
Division2:Nationwide League
Champions2:A.F.C. Leopards
(Zone A)
Sofapaka (Zone B)
Domestic:KFF Cup
Dchampions:Gor Mahia
Prevseason:2007
Nextseason:2009
Flagicon:yes

The following article is a summary of the 2008 football season in Kenya, the 45th competitive season in its history.

Premier League

The Premier League was sponsored by South African television channel SuperSport, meaning that it was broadcast live on TV after several years and offered financial benefits.[1] Francis Ouma, with 15 goals, finished as the top scorer.[2]

16 teams took part and Mathare United won its first league title. The season concluded on November 22, 2008.

Relegation

Mahakama and Mathare Youth were relegated from the league and were replaced by Nationwide League champions A.F.C. Leopards and Sofapaka, who were top in Zone A and Zone B respectively.[3]

Nationwide League

The Nationwide League was played in 2 zones. Zonal winners were A.F.C. Leopards and Sofapaka, who gained promotion for the following season.

Zone A

Team NameTown
AC NakuruNakuru
AFC LeopardsNairobi
Webuye
Eldoret MahakamaEldoret
Fluorspar FCKeiyo
Homegrown FCNaivasha
Kisumu Black StarsKisumu
Laikipia CampusNyahururu
Longonot HorticultureLongonot
MinicusNairobi
Nairobi StimaNairobi
OserianNaivasha
Real KisumuKisumu
St. Andrews FC
Strathmore University FCNairobi

Zone B

Team NameTown
Nairobi
Bidco UnitedThika
Dagoretti SantosNairobi
Gachui Black BootsGachui
Green Berets FCRuiru
Kangemi UnitedNairobi
Nairobi
Kenya Revenue Authority FCNairobi
Kenyatta National Hospital FCNairobi
Magongo RangersMombasa
Malindi UnitedMalindi
Opera FCSultan Hamud
Re-UnionNairobi
SofapakaNairobi
Super Eagles FC
Nairobi

Coast Stars from Mombasa were relegated from the Premier League in 2007, but refused to join the Nationwide League. They were replaced by Malindi United.[4] Shalimar of Naivasha were to compete in Zone A and had already played some games before pulling out of the league. They were replaced by Kisumu Black Stars which joined when the league was halfway done.[5]

KFF Cup

The President's Cup was renamed to the KFF Cup. The tournament was won by Gor Mahia, who beat Provincial League side Posta Rangers in the final. Apart from Gor Mahia, all other Premier League teams skipped the tournament due to high costs.[6]

National team

World Cup qualifiers – CAF second round (group 2)

The national team played in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and reached the 3rd qualifying round. The qualifiers also doubled as the 2010 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.

2008 CECAFA Cup

Kenya took part in the 2008 CECAFA Cup, which continued into 2009 due to postponements. They reached the final but were beaten 1-0 by Uganda. Shortly after the end of the tournament, Francis Kimanzi was sacked as the head coach due to disagreements with the Kenya Football Federation.[7]

Group stage

Other matches

There were no other matches played by Kenya in 2008.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Sportsbusiness.com, March 3, 2008: Supersport agrees TV rights deal with the Kenya Premier League
  2. BBC Sports, November 22, 2008: Mathare win first Kenya title
  3. Daily Nation, November 19, 2008: Leopards, Sofapaka confirmed
  4. The Standard, April 24, 2008: More woes for Coast Stars
  5. Kenyafootball.con, July 8, 2008: Nationwide: Shalimar results canceled
  6. The Standard, October 22, 2008: Gor cruise to cup WIN
  7. Web site: Kimanzi sacked as Kenya coach. 2009-01-19. 2009-01-18. BBC.