NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 16 – Bandari FC climbed at the top of the Kenyan Premier League standing after Congolese forward Yema Mwana struck the only goal that saw the Mombasa based side beat Kariobangi Sharks 1-0 at the Moi International Sports Center Kasarani on Saturday.

In other results, player-coach Allan Wanga hit the target to guide Kakamega Homeboyz to a 1-0 win over Tusker FC at the Ruaraka Sports Ground while Chemelil Sugar beat Nzoia 1-0 at the Sudi Stadium in Bungoma.

At the Kasarani Stadium, unmarked Mwana hit the target 18 minutes to stoppage time, nodding home a Moses Mudavadi cross from close range.

It was a sweet revenge for Bandari after Sharks beat them 1-0 to deny them the title at the 2019 SportPesa Cup held in Tanzania.

The result saw Bandari move three points clear at the apex with 28 points, pending other fixtures scheduled for Sunday.

The Dockers could have taken the lead as early as the 11th minute when they were awarded a penalty after Mwana had been hacked down by defender John Kuol, but William Wadri could not place his spot kick past Sharks custodian John Oyemba who punched it away.

The loss, which is Sharks’ second of the season, leaves them in 6th place with 21 points.

-Magnificent Wanga-

At the Ruaraka Ground, Wanga returned to haunt his former employers Tusker FC, scoring three minutes to half time from a sucker punch.

Timothy Otieno, Boniface Muchiri and Kevin Omondi were all culpable of big misses but Muchiri will take a lot of blame for a 22nd minute miss at the end of a fine counter attack that drew Homeboyz keeper David Juma off his line only for the forward to curl his effort wide.

When Homeboyz got their groove on the game, they posed a real threat going forward and it only took goalkeeper Emery Mvuyekure’s brilliance to keep the scores barren with a fine save to stop Mudavadi.

The Rwandan keeper was at it again, narrowing the angles for Mudavadi, forcing him to hit wide after the diminutive winger beat the Brewers’ defence.

Kevin Omondi’s free kick kissed the bar on its way out in what came to be the last real chance for the Brewers in the opening half and on the other end, Wanga made them pay dearly after sticking behind the Tusker defence to slot past Mvuyekure even as the flag stayed down as he seemed to have gained advantage from an offside position.

-Millers Derby-

Elsewhere at the Sudi Stadium in Bungoma, Chemelil Sugar managed a 1-0 win over Nzoia Sugar to claim all spoils in the millers derby.

The win which is just the third for Chemelil this season, lifts the side up to 13th with a similar number of points.

Nicholas Muyoti’s Nzoia on their part remain in 8th place with 17 points, though all that is subject to change as the round is yet to conclude.

-Additional reporting from Soka.co.ke-

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 17 – Sofapaka’s John Avire, Mathare United’s Andrew Juma and Wazito FC’s Teddy Osok are among seven new players handed maiden national team call ups after head coach Sebastien Migne named a squad of 25 for a training session on Tuesday kicking off preparations for upcoming national team assignments.

Mathare duo of Roy Okal and Andrew Juma, Kariobangi Sharks’ Sidney Lokale and Tusker FC’s David Juma are the other new players who have been called up to the senior team with Migne set to assess them.

The team is preparing for next month’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier away to Ghana while Migne also has an eye cast on the upcoming African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier against Burundi slated for later in the year.

The squad is set to have a session at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies on Tuesday. However, Migne will excuse Gor Mahia FC players who have a league match on Tuesday as well as players from upcountry teams.

Those excused from Tuesday’s session are Elvis Nandwa, Abdallah Hassan, Farouk Shikalo, Allan Wanga, and Benard Ochieng, who are based outside Nairobi. The five will link up with the team in the following week.

Harambee Stars training squad:

Goalkeepers

Brian Bwire (Kariobangi Sharks), John Oyemba (Kariobangi Sharks), Farouk Shikalo (Bandari)

Defenders

Andrew Juma (Mathare United), David Owino (Mathare United), Philemon Otieno (Gor Mahia), Joash Onyango (Gor Mahia), Elvis Nandwa (Ulinzi Stars), Michael Kibwage (KCB), Benard Ochieng (Vihiga United)

Midfielders

Francis Kahata (Gor Mahia), James Mazembe (Kariobangi Sharks), Duke Abuya (Kariobangi Sharks), Roy Okal (Mathare United), Cliff Nyakeya (Mathare United), John Avire (Sofapaka), Dennis Odhiambo (Sofapaka), Teddy Osok (Wazito FC), Whyonne Isuza (AFC Leopards), Jafari Owiti (AFC Leopards), Abdallah Hassan (Bandari)

Forwards

Sydney Lokale (Kariobangi Sharks), Piston Mutamba (Sofapaka), Allan Wanga (Kakamega HomeBoyz), David Juma (Tusker)

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NAKURU, Kenya, Feb 17 – Samuel Onyango’s 24^th minute goal was enough to see defending champions Gor Mahia hit Sofapaka 1-0 at the Afraha Stadium in Nakuru on Sunday afternoon to snap John Baraza’s winning run at the helm of the 2009 champions.

Gor who arrived from their CAF Confederations Cup assignment in Luanda, Angola just 48 hours earlier didn’t let the little gremlins of fatigue catch up with them, even despite arriving at the Afraha Stadium in Nakuru late and warming up for barely 25 minutes.

The holders picked up three vital points that hoisted them to third in the standings with 25 points, three behind leaders Bandari FC and a one-match at hand awaiting them on Wednesday.

Off a well crafted counter attack in the 24^th minute, the defending champions had booked themselves a lead. Kenneth Muguna emgineered the move from deep in Gor’s half after turning over possession, sending Jacques Tuyisenge away with a delightful chip.

The Rwandese forward galloped forward and teed up Samwel Onyango who beat keeper Justin Ndikumana with a low shot.

The on form Sofapaka had sought to have a good start just like the one they had against Mathare United last Tuesday, keeping possession and trying to open up the Gor Mahia backline with little through passes and swift running behind the defense.

In the 10^th minute, Elli Asieche picked the ball up at the edge of the box off a poorly defended long throw, but his shot was deflected for a corner.

Seven minutes later, Sofapaka had another glorious opportunity when Joash Onyango failed to clear a cross from George Maelo and Umaru Kassumba picked it up, but his low shot from the edge of the area went inches wide.

But Gor were slowly growing into the game and were creating chances. In the 21^st minute, they broke off the counter with Francis Kahata releasing Onyango on the left, but Sofapaka defender Maelo stretched out his boot to tap the ball away for a corner.

Two minutes later, Gor won a freekick at the edge of the box after Maelo handled, but Shafik Batambuze swung it just inches over the bar.

Nonetheless, the reigning champions finally broke the deadlock after 24 minutes, Onyango booting home after a sweeping move.

Sofapaka should have drawn back level with back to back chances after conceding. In the 26^th minute, the industrious Avire teed up Brian Magonya inside the box, but the midfielder  ould not hit a strong shot with Fredrick Odhiambo gathering.

A minute later, Avire came to the end of a well delivered setpiece from Elli Asieche, but the striker’s header glanced inches wide.

Sofapaka pushed hard to get back level, but a strong backline denied them.

At the stroke of halftime, Muguna should have taken Gor two up when a well delivered cross from Philemon Otieno found him isolated at the backpost, but he could not connect his header on target.

At the start of the second half, Sofapaka were forced into a change, Magonya failing to get back after picking an injury in the first half and was replaced by Ibrahim Kitawi. Ten minutes later, they brought in Stephen Waruru for Mutamba.

But it was Gor who still had the game’s best chances and on the hour mark, Nicholas Kipkurui should have surely made it 2-0 when a well weighted cross from Onyango found him unmarked at the edge of the six yard box, but he headed straight at Justin Ndikumana.

Sofapaka were forced to make another change when Kassumba was forced off injured and was replaced by Telvin Omutere. Things got worse for the former champions when Mohammed Kilume tore his hamstring with 13 minutes left

With all three substitutions exhausted, Batoto ba Mungu were forced to play the remainder of the tie with 10 men.

Kitawi came close to equalizing when Asieche’s corner found him at the backpost but he headed straight to the side netting.

Dennis Oliech, barely five minutes into the game after coming on for Tuyisenge should have killed off the game in added time when Wendo’s cross from the right found him rushing into the box, but he took a wild effort that skied off target.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 17 – Impala ladies floored their Mwamba counterparts 15-5 to clinch the second leg of the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) Women’s Festival at the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Sports Club on Sunday evening.

Both sides proceeded to the final after hard fought drop kick victories in the semis with mwamba hitting Nakuru 4-3 after no points were collected in regular time while Impala beat Homeboyz 3-2 after both teams dotted down a try each in regular time.

In the third and fourth play-offs, the deejayz dotted down two tries, one in each half to see out the Wanyore ladies 10-0.

Nakuru, Homeboyz and Impala proceeded to the Main Cup semis with a100pc record each while Mwamba went through as the best loser.

Impala, the eventual winners of the championship picked 36-0 and 17-5 victories over Kisumu Ladies and Mwamba respectively.

Northern Suburbs meanwhile finished fifth after beating Shamas Rugby Foundation 14-5 having seen off Kisumu Rugby 10-0 in the semi-finals.

Kisumu wrapped up their Festival campaign in the seventh position when they saw off Comras 7-0.

Overall Festival II ranking

1.Impala

2.Mwamba

3.Homeboyz

4.Nakuru

5.N. Suburbs

6.Shamas

7.Kisumu

8.Comras

9.Blakblad

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 18 – Gor Mahia head coach Hassan Oktay launched a scathing attack at the state of the Afraha Stadium pitch, despite his side weathering a tough Sofapaka storm to win 1-0 and move third in the Kenyan Premier League standings.

The Cypriot tactician was unimpressed with the uneven and bumpy nature of the playing surface which denied his charges an opportunity to express their free-flowing football.

“This is no pitch. This is a farm. This is not for playing football. In Europe, parks where kids play football are better than this. This is a farm,” the angered tactician stated after the game.

This is not the first time a Gor Mahia coach is blasting the same stadium as last season, ex coach Dylan Kerr termed the pitch as horrendous.

The game between the two sides had earlier been scheduled for the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos on Saturday but had to be moved due to Gor Mahia’s involvement in the CAF Confederations Cup.

And it was not only the pitch that annoyed the tactician, but he also expressed his frustration with the match referee Badir Yassin who he accused of trying to spoil the game.

“We have suffered bad decisions against referees. Today, the referee wasn’t good enough. He was very bad. He tried to spoil the game but both teams were good and remained disciplined,” the furious coach stated.

Nonetheless, the tactician said he was proud of his charges for getting maximum points from the tough tie despite having little time to rest following their tie away in Angola.

“We played a high intensity game in Angola and two days later, we are playing a very tough and big game here. We got a win and I am happy with the players. Probably we should have won two or three, but it’s three points still,” stated the tactician.

Gor will have little time to rest as on Wednesday they will be out again for a league assignment when they face another on form side, Western Stima at the Kasarani Stadium in a rescheduled tie.

The victory over Sofapaka moved Gor to within three points of leaders Bandari, but the defending champions will assume top spot of they pick up maximum points against Stima.

Meanwhile, Sofapaka tactician John Baraza says he was proud oif his players despite the loss to Gor, lauding their fighting spirit especially after playing with a man less for the last quarter hour following Mohammed Kilume’s injury.

Sofapaka were on a run of five successive wins, but Baraza suffered his first defeat since taking charge of the team.

“We were unfortunate today because we created the chances, we had possession but we were just unlucky not to score. I think my boys really did well and showed some good fighting spirit. The league is still a marathon and this is now over. We shift our focus to the next game,” the youthful tactician stated.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 18 –  Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club’s Rizwan Charania shot an impressive round of 1-under par 71 at his home course leg of the Safari Tour golf series to take the clubhouse lead on Round One of the tournament.

He played a blemish-free first nine round, picking up birdies on the par-5, third and the par-5, fifth for a first nine score of 34 – having held par on the rest.

On the back nine, he dropped shots on the par-3, 13th (where he hit double-bogey) and the par-4 14th but managed birdies at the par-5, 15th and at the par-4, 18th for a back nine total of 37.

Speaking after the round, Charania said that he was happy with his performance on day one of the Windsor leg of the Safari Tour, adding that he will use the lead as a motivation for the remaining three rounds of the leg.

“I am pleased with my performance today; it wasn’t easy, but I managed to play under-par to top the leaderboard. I am now focusing on first making the Cut tomorrow before thinking of the remaining two rounds. I will definitely use today’s performance as an inspiration for the remaining rounds,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ugandan David Kamulindwa and Sigona Golf Club’s Sujan Shah returned impressive scores on the round to finish the day tied for second with 1-over par 73 scores.

On the first nine, Kamulindwa started off impressively, picking up a birdie on the par-4, sixth and proceeding to play bogey-free for a total of 35.

On the back nine, he picked up a lone birdie on the par-5, 15th, but dropped shots at the par-3, 13th, the par-4, 14th, and the par-4, 18th for a back nine total of 38.

On his part, Shah picked up birdied at the par-5, third, par-4, sixth and par-4, ninth but dropped shots at the par-4, seventh and the par-3, eighth (where he holed a double-bogey) for a first nine total of 36.

On the back nine, he started off brilliantly, holding par on the 10th and the 11th before holing a birdie on the 12th. He dropped a shot on the 13th but made amends with a birdie on the 14th. He then dropped shots at the 16th and 18th for a back nine total of 37.

Mumias Sugar’s Dismas Indiza, Muthaiga’s Jeff Kubwa and Railways Alfred Nadwa tied for fourth with a decent 2-over par 74 score.

Meanwhile, Road to Kenya Open ranking leader and three-time Safari Tour Champion, Greg Snow, found the going tough on round one of the Windsor leg of the Safari Tour to return a 3-over par 75 score to tie for seventh alongside Professional Golfers of Kenya Captain, John Wangai, Windsor’s David Opati and Golf Park’s James Karanja.

In the PRO-AM event held at the same venue yesterday, Nyanza Golf Club’s David Odhiambo scored 36 points to combine with the best amateur score for his team of 48 for a total of 84 to win the PRO-AM tournament.

The team led by Kopan Timbe returned a combined score of 83 to clinch second place, while the team led by Sullivan Muthugia posted a combined score of 82 to settle for third.

Safari Tour Calendar 2018/19

Event 1 – Nyali Golf & CC: 18 – 22 August [Winner: David Wakhu]

Event 2 – Vet Lab SC: 1 – 5 Sept [Winner: Greg Snow]

Event 3 – Limuru Country Club: 27 – 31 October [Winner: Michael Karanga (am)]

Event 4 – Thika Greens: 14 – 19 December [Winner: Greg Snow]

Event 5 – Muthaiga Golf Club: 11 – 16 January [Winner: Greg Snow]

Event 6 – Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club: 16 – 20 February

Event 7 – Karen Country Club: 23- 27 February (This event will not have Road to Kenya Open points, but shall have a prize money attached to it)

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 18 – The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) has promised to help clear the pending medical bills of athletics legend Nyantika Maiyoro who has been recuperating at a Kisii Hospital.

The 88-year old Maiyoro who was Kenya’s first ever Olympian at the Melbourne Games in Australia in 1956 has been in and out of hospital for the last few years and has had trouble clearing his bills.

“NOC-K appreciates that this is only a stop-gap measure, which is not sustainable nor all-inclusive and, therefore, hope that in the coming months, it shall come up with a strategic programme of providing support to our Olympians,” a statement from the Olympic Committee read.

“Already, NOC-K, in the past year, organized an Athletes’ Career Transition workshop aimed at assisting our athletes across the board prepare for life after active career,” it added.

The Committee says it is working on a fully viable strategic plan that among other things will see all retiring athletes better equipped for life after active sports.

“We call upon various stakeholders, particularly in the financial, life insurance and, even service sectors to join hands with us towards cushioning and preparing our sports people for decent and enjoyable life, especially in retirement,” NOCK Secretary General Francis Mutuku further states.

According to his son Fred Nyantika who spoke to the Daily Nation, the legendary athlete has been detained at the hospital over a bill of close to Sh100,000 after being hospitalized following a bout of tuberculosis.

“We also ask the national and county governments to help him reposess his piece of land which he was given by Mzee Jomo Kenyatta but has been grabbed. We have not had the privilege pf enjoying the fruits of his fame and all the joy that came with him winning medals for Kenya,” his son further stated.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 18 – Kenyan Premier League side Kakamega Homeboyz have appointed immediate former Nzoia Sugar boss Nicholas Muyoti as their new head coach and will be assisted by Peter Okidi, both taking charge on one-year contracts.

“We had a shortlist of almost 20 coaches but for us Muyoti stood out and with our policy of giving youth a chance and him being a young coach, he fit the bill we required. I have utmost faith in him and Okidi that they will help the team improve,” Homeboyz chairman Cleophas Shimanyula stated.

He added; “It is good for us to trust our local coaches because that’s the only way we will grow them. I have vowed never to appoint any foreign coach in my team after what happened before,” further stated Shimanyula.

Homeboyz were without a coach after Fred Nkata was fired amidst match fixing claims with veteran forward Allan Wanga and goalkeeper David Juma taking charge on interim basis alongside technical director Eliud Omukuya.

Wanga has literally led from the front, scoring five goals for the Kakamega based side including last weekend’s solo strike that handed them a slim 1-0 win over his former side Tusker FC.

The forward will now resume his normal duties as the club’s lead striker as he looks to bag the KPL golden boot.

“He is a good coach and has proved with the little time he has been at Nzoia and as a team we will give them the full support they need to see the team achieve its targets this season,” Wanga said of the appointment of Muyoti, a former Kenyan international.

Muyoti however arrives in Kakamega after a lull period with Nzoia, three losses on the trot seeing them drop to 11^th in the standings.

He finds Homeboyz placed ninth and his first task will be against Sofapaka at the Bukhungu Stadium on Saturday. He has already faced Batoto ba Mungu with the 2009 champions beating his Nzoia side 1-0.

Shimanyula has meanwhile raised the bar for them and says the only term for the renewal of their contracts will be if they guide the team to finish in the top five.

“We have good players. It was only the coaching that was the problem. Now with new people at the helm, we will do well. Minimum for them is a top five finish. We are in good form and we won away to Tusker, now we want to extend that to Sofapaka,” Shimanyula stated.

Muyoti, a former Kenyan international has had a bit of experience in coaching having worked at AFC Leopards as both assistant and caretaker coach and took full time coaching jobs at Thika and Nzoia.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 18 – Despite failing to clinch the major award of the night, the male sportsman of the year trophy, Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge did not leave Monaco empty handed as he was awarded the Exceptional Achievement gong at the Laureus Sports Awards for his world record feat in Germany last year.

Kipchoge shaved 78 seconds of the world record on his way to clinching the Berlin Marathon title in September 2018 and that memorable and historic run has earned him a Laureus recognition.

“I want to thank all my fans across all social media platforms, I thank everyone especially those who love the sport. A running world or a sporting world is a peaceful world; a sporting world is a healthy world, a sporting world is a wealthy world, a sporting world is an enjoyable world,” Kipchoge said after receiving his award at the ceremony held in the prestigious French principality of Monaco.

Kipchoge was also nominated for the sportsman of the year award, a category won by Serbian Tennis sensation Novak Djokovic.

Also nominated in the category was French World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe, Croatian captain and FIFA best player Luka Modric, basketball star LeBron James and five-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton.

“This is the best night ever in my sporting career. To be nominated among best sportsmen from across the world, I am proud and I can say I have realized even athletics can actually give a huge impact to the generations in all the world,” Kipchoge further stated.

United States of America (USA) gymnast Simone Billes won the corresponding female award while golfing legend Tiger Woods clinched the comeback of the year award.

Former Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger, who hugely mirrored Kicphoge’s speech in his own acceptance remarks, was handed the lifetime achievement award.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 19 – A head of the Africa Nation Championship (CHAN) Qualifier tie against Burundi, Harambee Stars held its first training session on Tuesday under head coach Sebastian Migne at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies grounds.

Harambee Stars are set to take on Burundi in a two-legged tie for the first round as they seek to take part in the 2020 finals scheduled to be hosted in Ethiopia.

Twenty local based players took part in the session, which is the first of weekly training sessions that have been lined up. Two foreign-based players, Masud Juma and David ‘Cheche’ Ochieng, also took part.

“We intend to have at least a session every week with the local based players. This way, we will be better prepared for the international matches,” head coach Migné said.

Kenya is set to play Ghana away March in their final 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match, despite the Harambee Stars having already booked a place in the continental showpiece to be hosted in Egypt.

Also, in line for the Harambee Stars is an African Nations Championships Qualifier against Burundi, set to be played on a date to be announced by CAF in due course.

The tourney is reserved exclusively for players actively featuring in their respective national championships.

This is the second time in the qualification process that Kenya has been paired against Burundi. The two sides clashed in the 2014 qualifiers where Burundi won 1-0 on aggregate after winning the first leg and forcing a 0-0 draw in the return tie in Nairobi.

For the 2016 event, Kenya missed out after losing 2-0 on aggregate to Ethiopia, losing the first leg away in Bahir Dar before drawing 0-0 in the return tie in a match that saw Kenya miss three penalties in both home and away legs.

If Stars go past the first round, then they will be paired up against the winner of the tie pitting Tanzania and Sudan with the winner joining hosts Ethiopia for the competition next year.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 20 – Windsor Golf and Country Club’s Rizwan Charania continued with his steady form at his home club’s leg of the Safari Tour Golf Series to remain top of the leaderboard with a two-stroke lead with one round of the leg remaining.

He returned a 1-over 73 score on the third round of the tournament, taking his total for the tournament to 2-under par 214; two shots ahead of Dismas Indiza who stormed to second place.

On the first nine, Charania started the round with a birdie on the par-4, first before dropping a shot on the par-3, fourth. He quickly remedied the situation with a birdie on the par-5, fifth before holing another bogey on the par-4, seventh for a total of 36 on the first nine; having held par on the other holes.

On the back nine, he dropped shots on the par-4, 11th but made a birdie on the par-5, 12th. A bogey on the par-3 17th took his total for the back nine to 37 having held par on the other holes.

Speaking after the round, he said:

“I still have a long way to go but I am happy with my overall performance. I have improved on my putting which has been my greatest shortcoming and I feel that I can carry this momentum into the Kenya Open.”

Commenting on how the Safari Tour has helped the local Pros prepare for this year’s Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship, he said:

“I have really enjoyed it; it has given us professionals a wakeup call to step up our game, and has also given us great experience which will be used at the Kenya Open.”

Meanwhile, Mumias Sugar’s Dismas Indiza returned an impressive 2-under par 70 score to take his total for the tournament to level-par 216; enough to take him to second place with one leg to go. On the first nine, he holed consecutive birdies on the par-4, second and the par-5, third before dropping shots on the par-4, sixth and the par-4, seventh; but a birdie on the par-4, ninth was enough to take his first nine total to 35.

On the back nine, he started off with a bogey on the par-4, 10th but quickly cancelled it out with a birdie on the par-4, 11th. A birdie on the par-5, 15th was enough to take his back nine total to 35; having held par on the rest of the holes.

But the day’s headline story comes from Golf Park’s Tony Omuli who shot an impressive 3-under par 69 (the lowest score so far at this leg) to take his total for the tournament to 2-over par 218 to tie for third alongside Muthaiga’s Greg Snow.

On the first nine, he holed birdies on the second, third holes and sixth holes; dropping a lone shot at the eighth for a first nine total of 34.  On the back nine, he dropped a single shot at the par-4, 14th but holed birdies on the 18th and the 17th to take his back nine total to 35.  On his part, Greg Snow returned a score of level-par 72 to retain his total tournament score of 2-over par 218.

Players tee off at 8:00am Wednesday for the final round of the Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club leg of the Safari Tour where the top eight PROs on the Road to Kenya Open ranking will automatically qualify to play at this year’s Magical Kenya Golf Championship.

The post Windsor’s Riz on the brink of Safari Tour glory appeared first on Capital Sports.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 20 – Harambee Stars head coach Sebastien Migne says it ‘would be terrible for us’ If the team does not actualize the plan to have a training session in France prior to the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt.

According to preliminary plans the team is set to kick off camp just after the conclusion of the Kenyan Premier League and the team will stay there for three weeks before moving to Egypt for a final phase of training.

“We visited the place in France where we are supposed to be training with my president (Nick Mwendwa) and we agreed that it’s a good place. It will be easy for us in terms of movement because it is close to the airport and only four hours to Cairo. Also, the weather at that time of the year is very good,” Migne said.

He added; “I really hope this can work out. If it is not possible it will be terrible for us.”

“I will be very proud to take my national team to camp in France because of course I am from there and it will be a good feeling for me.”

Migne held a meeting with Sports Principle Secretary Kirimi Kaberia at his office last week where he got assurances that the government was committed to fund the team’s preparations for the biennial championship.

With the Sports Fund set to begin operations, Migne will hope that budgets will be approved for the team. “It will be important fir us to have such kind of a preparation if we want to do well at the Cup of Nations,” he noted.

Stars began preparations for the final qualification match against Ghana scheduled for next month with the tactician also having an eye on preparations for the African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier against Burundi at a later date.

A team of 20 local based players started training on Tuesday and Migne hopes he can have at least one of those sessions a week as he looks to increase the scope of the team with a long year ahead.

In Tuesday’s session, Migne did not have Gor Mahia players as they have a league match on Wednesday evening as well as upcountry players, but he hopes to have them in next week’s session.

“I would like to have these kinds of sessions regularly because it is important if we start preparing early. The door for the national team is open for anyone, even for those in the street. It is open for coming in and going out,” the tactician stated.

“It is my willingness to prepare this team well and also to give the young players a chance to develop and build their confidence,” he added.

Also present at Tuesday’s session was the duo of defender David ‘Cheche’ Ochieng and striker Masud Juma who are both angling for moves after leaving their previous foreign-based clubs.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 20 – Head coach Paul Murunga has made four changes to the Kenya 7s team that travels to the Las Vegas and Vancouver legs of the World Sevens series in March.

Menengai Oilers’ Harold Anduvate and Homeboyz’s Mark Wandetto have been ruled out with injury while Eliakim Kichoi and William Reeve have both been rested.

Michael Agevi who is Collins Injera and Huimphrey Kayange’s younger brother comes into the squad as well as debutant Charles Owino, Herman Humwa and Edmund Anya.

Daniel Taabu, Johnstone Olindi and Brian Wahinya who have so far featured in all four legs in Dubai, Cape Town, Hamilton and Sydney are part of the Vegas troops. So is Vincent Onyala and Cyprian Kuto who were on boarded to the squad from the Cape Town leg.

Skipper Jacob Ojee, Bush Mwale and Brian Wandera who came in for the Oceania trip to Hamilton and Sydney maintain their places in the squad. No player is making a return for the America legs from last year.

Kenya 7s is in pool B with hosts USA, France and Argentina with the first match set to be against Mike Friday’s Eagles 7s at 3.50am on Saturday March 2.

The second pool B match for Kenya will be against France at 6.29am on Saturday before closing with Argentina at 11.58pm.

Heading to Vegas 7s, Kenya sits 13th in the HSBC World Sevens Series standings with 12 points, just one above Japan who occupy position 15- the relegation point.

Kenya 7s Squad

Jacob Ojee, Vincent Onyala, Daniel Taabu, Johnstone Olindi, Brian Wahinya, Bush Mwale, Brian Wandera, Cyptian Kuto, Edmund Anya, Herman Humwa, Charles Omondi, Michael Agevi.

-additional information from Raga House-

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 20 – The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) says it will spend Sh12mn to assist over 22 sports federations prepare and participate in qualification tournaments for next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Each of the 22 federations, including fencing, Fencing, Bowling and Shooting is set to get at least Sh500,000 each to supplement their own budgets to aid in the qualification process for next year’s showpiece.

“We understand that some of our federations have been struggling financially so as a Committee, we have decided to step in with some little financial assistance,” NOCK president Paul Tergat said on Wednesday.

He added; “We have been working round the clock to see that more sports federations qualify for the Olympics and with this help we are offering, we help they can compete,” added the former Cross Country great.

-Softball, rollball 

Secretary General Francis Mutuku has also added that negotiations are ongoing with several other federations including softball and rollball to help them in qualification.

“This is the year whereby most of the qualification starts and we would like to help our federations because we realized that we have been losing out on the opportunity in the previous years. There are some new entrants to the Olympics and we are in discussion to see how more we can help them,” Mutuku asserted.

Meanwhile, the entire budget for next year’s games is expected to be completed by October with the final details set to be presented to the Sports Ministry for funding.

“We have written to all the federations and asked them to present their budgets. Once the qualification is completed and we know who is qualifying, we will then consolidate all those budgets into one and present it to the ministry,” Mutuku asserted.

-Forget Rio mess

Meanwhile, Tergat has affirmed that his new office is inclined to ensure the team does not face the same challenges they faced during the 2016 games in Rio, saying the team will be better managed this year.

“We know everything that happened in Rio and we want to let the processes that are already on take its course. We want to put that behind our backs now. We want to drive looking at the windscreen and not the side mirror,” Tergat noted.

He added; “We want to say sorry to Kenyans for all that happened, but we want to move on from it. We want to get things right for Tokyo 2020. Olympics comes once in four years and if we don’t get things right, we will be killing a lot of aspirations of our young people out there.”

There were cases of misappropriation of funds with blotted budgets, between former officials of the Olympics body and the sports ministry with the cases currently in court.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 20 – Gor Mahia’s hope of scaling to the top of the Kenyan Premier League was halted after being pegged back with a 1-1 draw by visiting Western Stima at the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani on Wednesday evening.

Gor were leading 1-0 via a first half goal from Ernest Wendo, but a howler from keeper Fredrick Odhiambo early in the second half saw Stima get back into the game via Vincent Odongo.

The former Mathare United man took a speculative shot from almost 40 yards out and Odhiambo went down too early, the ball taking an awkward dip right infront of his face and bouncing into the net.

On the balance of chances especially in the first half though, the reigning champions should have gone back to the dressing at least three up with the chances they squandered.

K’Ogalo got their goal, in the 26^th minute, from the unlikeliest of scorers. Wendo raced in to the far post to connect to a Samuel Onyango well weighted freekick from the right.

-Shown hunger 

He had shown his hunger for goal just a few minutes before he shook the net making a decent diagonal run behind the defense to a Lawrence Juma pass, but his lack of pace let him down as the defense quickly shut him down before he could make a decision.

Prior to that, Gor had the chances.

In the 11^th minute, Luke Ochieng almost turned the ball into his own net when he tried to cut off a sharp low cross from Philemon Otieno after Dennis Oliech had missed his initial attempt at a connection.

From the resultant corner, former Stima man Geoffrey Ochieng floated in a decent ball from the right finding Oliech at the backpost, but his header was blocked away for another corner.

Stima almost shocked Gor in the 21^st minute when Henry Onyango broke off the counter, but a fast rushing Joash Onyango managed to throw in a leg in time to cut off his shot inside the box with the Stima forward left sprawling on the ground asking for a penalty.

-Oliech effort

On the other end, Oliech tried his luck with a first time shot from the edge of the box, but it was blocked for yet another corner.

Gor finally tasted the net in the 26^th minute Wendo surprising even himself with a goal.

Oliech should have doubled the tally three minutes later when a cheeky chipped ball from Lawrence Juma found him inside the box unmarked, but his attempt at lifting the ball over an advancing Samuel Onyango was too much as the ball went over the bar.

Gor were forced into a sub five minutes to the break when Joash Onyango went off injured after coming off the worst from an Onyango challenge. He was replaced by Joachim Oluoch.

The incoming defender almost gifted Stima a way back when he lost possession inside the box, but Philemon threw his body on the ground to block a shot from Maurice Ojwang turning the ball behind for a corner.

-Boniface in

Oktay began the second half with changes, Onyango coming off for Boniface Omondi with Gor needing a fresh pair of legs up the field.

But, the holders were stunned just seven minutes into the half when Odongo’s shot evaded keeper Odhiambo. Just a minute before that, Ojwang’s shot from distance missed the target by a whisker, Stima showing the early danger signs.

With a goal down, Oktay swung in his final change, bringing Nicholas Kipkurui for George Odhiambo in a bid to refresh the attack and try search for a winner.

But, Stima played without fear and the introduction of the former Gor duo of Herbert Kopany and Baron Oketch spiced up things for the Kisumu based side.

Within few minutes of coming on, Oketch won a freekick at the edge of the box after being hauled down by Charles Momanyi off a counter attack.

However, the former K’Ogalo winger struck his effort straight at the wall.

On the other end, Gor threw everything at attack, but could not find a way past the defense. They dodged a bullet on the other end in added time when Kennedy Otieno failed to beat Odhiambo one on one when he raced to a through pass.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 20 – Windsor Golf Club’s Rizwan Charania returned a 1-under par 71 score on the final round of the Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club leg of the Safari Tour Golf series to win the tournament with a total score of 3-under par 218.

On the first nine, he dropped shots on the par-3, fourth before quickly following it up with a birdie on the par-5, fifth. He then dropped a shot on the par-4, seventh to take his total for the first nine to 37; having held par on the rest of the holes.

On the back nine, he started off with a birdie on the par-4, 10th before holing a bogey on the par-5, 12th. He quickly remedied the situation with consecutive birdies on the par-3 13th and the par-4, 14th to finish the back nine with a total of 34; having held par on the rest of the holes.

Speaking after the round, Riz said:

“I am delighted with this win as it is a result of the hard work which I have put into this leg of the Safari Tour golf series. It gives me a boost in confidence as we near the 2019 Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship which I look forward to participating in.”

This becomes the first Safari Tour win by Riz Charania; leaving him in a buoyant mood ahead of the Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship. For his achievement, Riz took home KShs 450,000 in prize money.

On his part, Mumias Sugar’s, Dismas Indiza, returned a similar score for the round (1-under par 71) for a total tournament score of 1-under par 287 to finish second in the tournament and taking home KShs 300,000.

On the first nine, he started off with a bogey on the par-4, first before following it up with a birdie on the par-4, second. He dropped a shot on the par-5, third, but managed a birdie on the par-5, fifth for the total of 36 on the back nine; having held par on the rest of the holes.

On the back nine, he hit it off with a birdie at the par-4, 10th but dropped shots on the par-5, 12th and the par-4, 14th. He followed it up with consecutive birdies on the par-5, 15th and the par-4, 16th for a total of 35 having held par on the rest of the holes.

Meanwhile, Muthaiga Golf Club’s, Greg Snow, who has been in fine form in previous Safari Tour tournaments, found the Windsor course tricky on the final round, to return a 1-over par 73 score; taking his total for the tournament to 3-over par 291 which was enough to secure third place at the tournament.

On the first nine, he played bogey-free while holing three birdies on the par-3, fourth, par-3, eighth and the par-4, ninth. It’s on the back nine that he found it tough; dropping five shots and picking up only one birdie for a back nine total of 40. For his efforts, Greg took home KShs 180,000.

His third-place finish at the Windsor leg of the Safari Tour Golf series saw him finish top of the Road to Kenya Open ranking with 113.5 points ahead of Dismas Indiza in second place with 111 points.

Meanwhile, Vet Lab’s Edwin Mudanyi emerged top elite amateur, taking home the tournament’s Silver.

Safari Tour Calendar 2018/19

Event 1 – Nyali Golf & CC: 18 – 22 August [Winner: David Wakhu]

Event 2 – Vet Lab SC: 1 – 5 Sept [Winner: Greg Snow]

Event 3 – Limuru Country Club: 27 – 31 October [Winner: Michael Karanga (am)]

Event 4 – Thika Greens: 14 – 19 December [Winner: Greg Snow]

Event 5 – Muthaiga Golf Club: 11 – 16 January [Winner: Greg Snow]

Event 6 – Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club: 16 – 20 February [Winner: Riz Charania]

Event 7 – Karen Country Club: 23- 27 February (This event will not have Road to Kenya Open points, but shall have a prize money attached to it)

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 20 – Nine Kenyan players, who have qualified to play at this year’s Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship, have been named following the conclusion of the 2018/2019 Safari Tour Golf series today at the Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club.

Two players tied for eighth spot – the Safari Tour Golf Series qualifying cut-off for the Kenya Open – pushing the number of players qualifying to nine.

Muthaiga Golf Club’s Greg Snow leads the team of nine professional player having accrued a total of 113.5 points across the six Safari Tour golf series.

Greg has been dominant, taking maximum points in four of the six Safari Tour events, to take top spot on the Road to Kneya Open ranking. He has featured at the Kenya Open 11 times with his best finish coming in 2014 when he finished 10th.

He is joined by Mumias Golf Club’s Dismas Indiza who amassed 111 points after a consistent performance across the Safari Tour to finish second.  Indiza has featured at the Kenya Open 19 times; with his best finish being tenth in the 2008 edition.

Windsor’s Rizwan Charania booked third spot on the Road to Kenya Open ranking having amassed a total of 79 points; with his win of the Windsor leg of the tour cementing third spot. He has played at the Kenya Open 14 times; his best finish coming in 2017.

David Wakhu, who won the Nyali Golf and Country Club leg of the Sadfari Tour Golf Series, finished fourth on the Road to the Kenya Open ranking, with a total of 72 points; while the Professional Golfers of Kenya Captain, John Wangai, finished fifth with 68.5 points. He has featured at the Kenya Open on six occasions.

Thika Golf Club’s, Simon Ngige, finished sixth with 66.5 points and shall now take part at his 13th Kenya Open tournament; while Golf Park’s Tony Omuli will be taking part at his seventh Kenya Open event having finished in seventh place on the Road to Kenya Open ranking with 53.5 points.

Meanwhile, Vet Lab Sports Club’s Nelson Simwa and Windsor’s David Opati tied for eighth with 51 points apiece to complete the list of nine Kenyan players at this year’s tournament.

The Safari Tour Golf Series, which was launched in August last year, formed the qualification tournament for Kenyan players taking part this year’s Kenya Open.

The nine pros join six amateur players who have already qualified to play at this year’s Magical Kenya Open Championship; these are Daniel Nduva, Samuel Njoroge, Mike Kisia, Edwin Mudanyi, Bradley Mogire and Mutahi Kibugu.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 21 – At least 220 amateur golfers have signed up for this Saturday’s KCB Road to the Masters tournament to be hosted at the Sigona Golf Club.

At stake are six tickets to the prestigious 2019 KCB Karen Masters Pro-Am tournament which will be played in June.

A qualifying tourney for this year’s KCB Karen Masters, the pro-am competition will be run in five Clubs across the country—Nyali, Sigona, Thika, Nakuru and Royal.

KCB Bank Kenya has injected Sh2 million as prize money for the local pros – Sh500,000 for each of the four tournaments they will take part in.

“The series is imperative for the development of golf in Kenya, and the move will resonate at many levels with our agenda to grow sports in East Africa as one of the biggest sponsors across disciplines,” KCB Marketing and Communications Director Angela Mwirigi said.

With a new qualification format, the series adds considerable lure to the Pro-Am tournament that sees amateurs paired alongside top golfers drawn from across the globe.

“The course is excellent, and the greens are on a normal pace, with the current weather situation, we are expecting great day of golf thanks to KCB Bank Kenya,” Sigona captain Muraya Kariuki stated.

Six winners from each of the participating clubs will get automatic qualification to play at the KCB Karen Masters Pro-am tournament on 25th to 30th June, 2019 at the Karen Country Club.

The criteria will see the overall winner in both the men and women category, staff winner and guest winner get automatic qualification, while the wild card will see one person grab a ticket.

The wild card ticket will be given to any of the following categories; best first nine, best second nine, nearest to the pin men and lady, junior golfer, longest drive lady and men, at the discretion of Clubs.

The other events with increased tickets to play at this year’s tournament will also be hosted at Thika golf club (April 13, 2019), and Nakuru Golf Club (May 11, 2019). The final round will be held at Royal golf club (June 15, 2019).

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 21 – Kenyan pro Greg Snow has been named the StarTimes Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) Sports Personality of the Month of January.

Snow, one of Kenya’s finest pro golfers and starred at the recently concluded Safari Golf Tour, racked up the coveted award following a remarkable performance on the Muthaiga leg of Safari Tour golf series where he swept the course with all his opponents.

To bag the award, the go-getting Muthaiga based pro beat reigning Dubai Marathon 2019 winner Ruth Chepngetich, Kabras rugby player Philip Wakorach and tennis youngster Angela Okutoyi who won the ITF Under 16 Nairobi Championship doubles.

He kept his impressive form going into his home club, to claim his third title, and his fourth top prize money win, of the 2018/19 Safari Tour golf series season.

Snow had played an impressive round of 7-under par in round 3, started the final round in decent form hitting par in the opening two holes before dropping shots at the Par-4 3rd and par-4 9th. He however managed a lone birdie on the first nine at the Par-5 7th for a total of 36.

He then followed it up with an impressive back nine score of 34, with birdies at the Par-4 14th and Par-5 18th, to return a score of one under par 70 for the round, taking his total to an impressive 13-under par 271, 15 strokes ahead of the duo of Dismas Indiza and Riz Charania who were tied for second place.

With this score, Snow became the first player in the Safari Tour to return scores of under par in all the four rounds played.

Speaking during the award ceremony, StarTimes Kenya Marketing Director Japheth Akhulia said;

“Some Sports Personalities who are beneficiaries of this award have gone ahead and made it big at global or continental level such as rally ace Manvir Baryan who went on to clinch the FIA African Rally Championship and Eliud Kipchoge who made the sixth man shortlist for the Laureus Sports Personally of the year Award alongside great sports personalities like Lewis Hamilton and footballer Luka Modric of Croatia.”

“Who knows? Snow might surprise us by winning next month’s Kenya Open or the Sunshine Tour sanctioned KCB Karen Masters in June. As StarTimes, we feel honored and duty bound to be part and parcel of an initiative which acknowledges and rewards sports personalities across the country,” Akhulia added.

Snow was voted the Sports Personality of month by a SJAK panel after he extended his overall lead on the Road to the 2019 Kenya Open ranking to 95.5 points; having picked up maximum points over the last four Safari Tour events.

For his gritty putts and strokes, Snow took home a personalized trophy, 42Inch StarTimes Digital TV and Sh100,000 prize money. He becomes the 19th winner of the award since its inception in 2017.

“I am overly excited to lay my hands on an award which has honored some of the best sports personalities in Kenya. As a golfer I’m indeed flabbergasted when considering the cut throat competition anticipated against the star-studded Kenyan middle and long distance runners. The award is a worthwhile motivation ahead of the 2019 Kenya Open which makes its debut  in the European Tour this year,” Snow stated.

Snow joins the growing list of athletes who have won the Startimes award alongside Fatuma Zarika, Eliud Kipchoge, Mary Keitany, Wycliffe Kinyamal, Hellen Obiri, Chess player Sasha Mongeli, Swimmer Maria Brunhelner,Rally driver Manvir Baryan, Beatrice Chepkoech and boxer Judy Waguthi among others.

MORE ABOUT GREG SNOW

Although Greg Snow has played in 13  Kenya Open editions, he believes he still has what it takes to shine in his 14th attempt. Greg is rated as one of the finest professional golfers in Kenya at the moment alongside Mumias long hitter Dismas Indiza.

Snow started playing golf at the age of 6 in Kiambu before moving to Muthaiga.

Although he is not a resident professional at Muthaiga, he spends much of his golfing time at the “Home of Golf” trying to perfect his skills.

Unlike most of the Kenyan pros, who realized their potential in the game as caddies, Snow had his love for the game ingrained as a result of accompanying his dad and mum to the course.

Once again, the 2019 Kenya Open field will be awash with local talent, with top home professionals teeing off in the European Tour event.  Snow, finished in a tie for ninth in the 2014 Kenya Open in his career best performance.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 22 – Mathare United head coach Francis Kimanzi has been named the January Kenyan premier League Fidelity Insurance Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) coach of the month for January, becoming the most successful with a third gong.

The Slum Boys who started the season strong enjoyed an enviable streak in January, winning three and drawing two of their five fixtures as they kept their place on top of the standings.

“I feel really happy and privileged to win this award for the third time. The work that the players have put in in the training ground and the sacrifices they have taken have seen the team rise. Also, this is the product of a huge and committed coaching staff,” Kimanzi said as he picked the award on Friday morning.

Mathare started the season well but have faded over the last few games and Kimanzi has blamed this on some element of fatigue but he remains confident they will regain the footing.

“We started well because we knew that we are facing a very tricky season and we had to be smart in the way we did our pre-season, but at some point that streak has to break and after around 10 matches it did. Sometimes you choose to keep the same players and rotate less and that means some element of fatigue,”

“But I am confident we will get back up. We can’t sit here and behave like it’s normal to lose a good run. We have to work to get back on top,” the tactician further stated.

He now hopes that the winning charm flows over his entire team and a player from his stable will also earn player of the month award.

With the trophy, Kimanzi also earned a monetary reward of Sh75,000 and a gift hamper from sponsors Fidelity Insurance.

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