There was a low turnout witnessed during the 95th Mashemaji derby that is currently ongoing at the Nyayo National Stadium.
A spot check witnessed by Newsday Kenya showed empty seats at the stadium as fans drawn from the two rival clubs are said to have given the match a wide berth to attend the Jacaranda rally hosted by Azimio Coalition leader Raila Odinga.
To make matters even worse, the match pitting the two rival clubs could not be televised nor streamed online. That’s the sad reality fans will have to grapple with.
Speaking to a local website ahead of the match, AFC Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda pointed fingers at the Football Kenya Federation for choking their plans.
Ingwe is the home team and was expected to make some of the day’s arrangements, including, but not limited to, ensuring that the game’s media rights are exploited.
“We’re having a serious problem with the federation, they want to interfere with everything, and it’s becoming very difficult for us,” Shikanda told Mozzart Sport.
“They denied us a chance to stream live the match against Police FC. We were to meet and discuss this match (Mashemeji Derby) and why we didn’t stream the Police match live, but they just canceled the meeting at the last minute,” he said.
According to various sources close to the club, Leopards failed to make arrangements to have the match on TV or online live stream due to internal disputes.
Meanwhile, there were fears that the turnout of Sunday’s epic duel could be affected by a much-hyped Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya Coalition rally at Jacaranda grounds in Embakasi.
Opposition chief Raila Odinga is currently addressing the mammoth rally as he continues piling pressure on the government of President William Ruto over the outcome of last year’s presidential election.
Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards draw a huge chunk of their fanbase from Nyanza and Western Kenya, respectively, where Mr. Odinga is massively popular. The ODM party leader is also Gor Mahia’s patron.
