Football crowd trouble exposes Raila Odinga Stadium defects
Players and club officials from Muhoroni Youth and Shabana scuffle during their Football Kenya Federation Premier League match at Raila Odinga Stadium in Homa Bay on Saturday.
What you need to know:
- Last month Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga said her administration will improve the stadium to make it capable of hosting international games.
- “We look forward to hosting games such as the Africa Cup of Nations,” she said.
The Homa Bay County government may have made a lot of noise about the suitability of Raila Odinga Stadium to host international matches but crowd trouble on Saturday during the Football Kenya Federation Premier League match between hosts Shabana and Muhoroni Youth exposed several shortcomings of the sports facility.
When chaos ensured, fleeing spectators found it difficult to hurriedly exit the stadium as it only has two gates. One is designated VIP while the entrance for ordinary fans has been undergoing repair.
Travelling Shabana fans were the majority in the stadium that had an estimated attendance of 2,000. Shabana’s Facebook page indicated they had sold 1,507 tickets.
The “home” fans played their 12th man role to the hilt noisily urging Shabana on but started getting agitated as the game dragged on with no evidence of a goal coming from their side.
It is in fact Muhoroni that broke the deadlock in the 68th minute via Samuel Adewobale’s game winning strike.
Shabana fans, frustrated all evening, reacted by throwing bottles and other objects onto the pitch.
A Shabana official was injured on the knee by a bottle thrown from the fans’ section and had to undergo first aid.
All hell then broke loose when the final whistle was blown. Fans from the Shabana side turned violent and attempted to destroy infrastructure at the main pavilion at the stadium included plucking out seats.
Other fans started throwing stones at the Muhoroni Youth side which retaliated forcing Homa Bay County security personnel to intervene and drive the angry spectators away.
Many fans running out for safety experienced difficulties exiting via the two entry points and particularly the narrow pedestrian entry gate that has been under repair for months.
One shudders at how the situation would have been if the attendance was in the 10s of thousands.
Homa Bay Sports Executive Sarah Malit said she is yet to be briefed on what happened at the stadium.
“I will get to the office and get details of what happened. That is when I can talk,” she said.
FKF approved Raila Odinga Stadium to host Premier League matches on August 18 last year.
The approval followed an extensive assessment by the FKF Venue Inspection Committee including looking at pitch quality, spectator facilities, security arrangements and compliance with CAF and Fifa regulations.
The first league match was held at the stadium on August 17, involving Shabana against Murang’a Seals.
Shabana have been using the stadium as their officially designated home ground after Gusii Stadium was closed for renovations.
Last month Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga said her administration will improve the stadium to make it capable of hosting international games.
“We look forward to hosting games such as the Africa Cup of Nations,” she said.
