Officials must offer sound leadership in the new season

Caf first Vice President Suketu Patel (left) speaks during a press briefing on the country's preparedness ahead of the 2018 Africa Nations Championships on February 24, 2017 in Nairobi. With him is Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |

What you need to know:

  • May you live in interesting times!” that is an ancient Chinese curse. At first glance, one may think it is actually a blessing, but looked at closely, one realises its brutal meaning.
  • Interesting times are those periods when confusion and suffering reign and death is the only way out of misery.
  • We are so used to squabbles and court cases between the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and the league managers Kenya Premier League (KPL) before the beginning of every season.

May you live in interesting times!” that is an ancient Chinese curse. At first glance, one may think it is actually a blessing, but looked at closely, one realises its brutal meaning.

Interesting times are those periods when confusion and suffering reign and death is the only way out of misery.

We are so used to squabbles and court cases between the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and the league managers Kenya Premier League (KPL) before the beginning of every season.

In fact, we look forward to the squabbling to the extent that when it did not happen this time round, we were almost gloomy! Those months of quarrelling have been our interesting times and we now miss the wretchedness! That is the irony of it all.

We must clear away that sad expectation and congratulate the two bodies on solving football issues without much acrimony this time round.

We at the same time send them a belated happy New Year and happy new season messages. We have to be proud that this time, the term has begun smoothly and on schedule.

We shall expect only better. Our only fear is that this season marks the beginning of a dry financial spell for most of our clubs. Some betting and gaming companies have made good their threat to cut sponsorship to clubs since they were unwisely taxed out of the desire to promote sports in this country.

The little brains in Parliament put up very faulty arguments towards this end and some even pulled in religious considerations with the holy cry of saving our country from the vice of gambling!

Well, the gambling goes on and the only tap that has been closed is the benefit that our clubs got from it. All that is water under the bridge and we do not expect any better from elsewhere.

We do wish that other corporates shall see the need to support our local sports but on that end we have very little faith. The clubs shall make do with any pittance from well-wishers to help them in their quest for improvement and growth.

We prayed very hard for the lord to save us from the minister of sports and we suppose we were heard. The former minister was somehow forgotten from the cabinet list and for that we are thankful. ‘May he live in interesting times!’ Everybody should work extra hard to forget him so that we all lessen the trauma of ineptitude that haunted the ministry.

Another one has been appointed in his place and his village mates disgustingly celebrated his rising to the position of Sports Cabinet Secretary, with some bodaboda riders screaming and whistling on the streets.

We do assume he has some agenda for sports but if he is clueless, we shall begin as soon as possible to forget him. If he goes ahead and becomes ham-fisted at the job, may he live in interesting times!