Stadium stampede in Kenya

The recent stadium stampede that occurred in one of Kenya’s foremost stadiums, the Nyayo national stadium has caused many analysts to ponder over the issue of crowd safety in Africa.

Their had been a build up of tension among the fans as supporters of the two main community clubs in Kenya, Gor Mahia FC and AFC Leopards were to meet in a mouth watering clash. Given that the title race was proving to be tight with every point counting, it is easy to see why the tension had been building up. To exacerbate the problem, the tickets were being sold even as the match was just a few minutes from kick-off. If you take the above scenario into consideration, it is easy to see why there was such a stampede. The stampede resulted in the unnecessary loss of lives and many people are hoping that the incident does not repeat itself again.

The Kenyan soccer seen has witnessed rampant mismanagement which has seen the quality of the game go down the drain. The country has never qualified for the world and qualifies for the African cup of Nations occasionally. This is despite the fact that millions of shillings are being pumped into the game yearly by FIFA.Other private firms such as Supersport are also coming into the fray with various initiatives. Crucially,supersport airs the local league games hence allowing the country to market its talent and soccer potential. In deed many Kenyan soccer players now aspire to join the likes of Mac Donald Mariga at Inter Milan and Dennis Oliech at Auxierre soccer club in France.However, had it not been for the corruption that bedevils the country’s soccer, there would have been many more talented players that would have been churned out. The stadium stampede was just a symptom that the authorities need to have a fresh look at the management of soccer in the country.