Football, The Magic That Unites Kenyans

By Juma / Published December 30, 2017 | 5:10 am

SuperSport Announces 19 Days of Premier League on DStv

Kenyans may not have kind words or fond memories for their own team, Harambee Stars, but one thing for sure, Kenyans love football.

There is nothing that unites Kenyans more than football. Not every football brings Kenyans together. Some do and some don’t but English Premier League has the magic that most football lovers find it hard to believe.

Football fanatics in Kenya love their teams and football in general more than they love their families. Believe me you, for a real football fanatic in Kenya, if “his/her team is playing, and there is an option of taking their loved ones out, they will choose to watch their team play.

Someone once made a joke that most Kenyan men can remember all the names of players, including the technical bench, of their favorite team but ask them to give you the number and names of their girlfriends and they will ask for some time to consult.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Stoke City, Southampton, Leicester City, Everton, Bournemouth and the rest are not new teams in the minds of many Kenyans.

In fact, if you are looking for information concerning any team especially in the English Premier League, do not trouble yourself looking for data to google, just ask a football lover in Kenya and you will have all the information you need.

I have a lady friend of mine who is married to Manchester United. The lady talks about the team more times in a day than she talks about her own boyfriend. She is a diehard fun of Man U. ” Man U Damu”, she often brags whenever one tries to sway her from her “faith”.

Ask her any question about Manchester United and she will give you everything you need including a full lineup a week to the game. You will not be mistaken to think that she often holds midnight meetings with the head coach of Manchester United. But that is Jane’s life; football and nothing else.

Every weekend or even during a weekday when there is a Premier League match being played, one will see supporters of respective teams gathered at a particular joint with eyes glued on the television screen, watching a group of 22 men chasing after a ball for 90 minutes or more.

Football has been a source of a income and a reason for growth of many businesses of late. Many drinking and fast food joints nowadays make sure that they have a DStv subscription just to attract football lovers.

Such joints often require a customer to buy a drink or something before allowed to sit and watch a game. You should, therefore, not be surprised to see man buying a small bottle of soda and then hold it for 90 minutes or more kissing it with the soda intact only to empty it at the last whistle.

Sport gambling or betting as they call it has just made football more fun and interesting. Study shows that 40 percent of Kenyans who watch football nowadays do so not because they love the game but because they have placed a bet.

The coming of such betting firms as Sportpesa, just moved football to the next level. This means that majority of the people no longer watch football only for fun but as an “investment” with money strings tied.

Kenyans love English Premier League more than any other league. With this in mind, the giant entertainer, DStv, made sure that Kenyans have what they love the most: football. The company rolled out the #19DaysOfPremierLeague where Kenyans have an opportunity to watch more than 70 Premier League matches on their DStv.

This Saturday, seven matches will be played. Bournemouth will play Everton, Chelsea against Stoke, Huddersfield against Burnley and Liverpool will play against Leicester.

Brighton and Watford will play Newcastle and Swansea respectively while Manchester United will face off with Southampton.

The thrill that brings Kenyans together is nothing else but football.

About Juma

Juma is an enthusiastic journalist who believes that journalism has power to change the world either negatively or positively depending on how one uses it.(020) 528 0222 or Email: info@sokodirectory.com

View other posts by Juma