There arent that many community clubs in the TPL: I only know of Gor Mahia, AFC and perhaps Thika. The others such as City stars, Rangers, Sofapaka etc are not community clubs. Which community do they draw their core fan base from ? Which community do they represent ? None. And this is why Sofapaka plays to empty stadia. They have given not fans a reason to form an emotional attachment. Dont confuse self supporting clubs with community clubs.





The EPL attracts foreign fans because they have high calibre players, they have excellent stadia,and a passionate fan base that exists because all EPL teams are community teams. The sight of full stadia with chanting pasionate fans is an excellent marketing tool in itself.
They have good promotion as well but such promotions But such marketing can only go so far. You need quality to draw fans.





I agree with investing in players. I strongly believe that youth development would increase player quality. But you cant invest in players and facilities if you are not making money to begin with. And you make money by drawing fans to the stadia. You draw fans to the stadia by having an emotional connection between fans and their teams. This can only happen with community teams. Most Kenyan teams struggle to pay players on time so investment in players is unlikely.




Its true that better security draws fans. However increased security is not the reason for the increased attendance. The re-emergence of Gor Mahia and AFC from near death is the main reason attendance is increasing. It is these clubs that drive public interest. And it is only these two clubs that draw sizable crowds.




I agree. But advertizing TPL will only draw fair weather fans many of whom will leave when they realize that the quality of TPL games is low compared to EPL and the stadia are dilapidated and uncomfortable.

The only fans who will continuously attend are the hardcore fans many of whom stick with their teams through thick and thin. These are fans who have an emotional attachment to their teams. Thats why I wish Nakuru All stars would have qualified for TPL this year. With good marketing they can create a big fan base by appealing to Nakuru residents in a way that Ulinzi cannot.

IN Nairobi, inter estate games such those played in sakata ball tournament and others drew larger crowds and fan interest People root for their estates with a passion because they have an emotional connection to the community.

When I was a lad, I played in Kiko cup which featured various teams in the Kibera area. Each estate had a team and public interest was high. Many players became estate legends in ways that KCB and Tusker players can never hope for.

This is the power of community teams. They create passion that corporate teams such as Tusker can only dream of. I guarantee you that lower level community teams like Kariobangi Sharks and Kibera Celtic have a bigger fan base than Tusker or KCB. Sharks in particular always draw sizable crowds. And they play in grounds that dont even have a place to sit. I wish they would qualify to TPL and replace kina KCB and Stima. Kibera alone has almost 1 million residents. Thats a big community of football lovers from which Celtic can draw a committed fan base.

You've just contradicted yourself. First you say the issue is how clubs can build a fan base then you change the subject to whether players from lower divisions would like to play for Tusker which has nothing to do with the topic at hand.




The bolded hardly makes sense at all. Why would a club move games away from their fans ?




THis also does not make sense at all. Why would holding onto your top players make a team loose its fan base ?




Gor Mahia and AFC are still community teams as is Shabana. And yes even in the 1960s and 70s they had fans from all over the country. But then as now, their core fan base comes from those ethnic groups.
That is why AFC plays many of their home games in Mumias and Gor Mahia tours Nyanza province every year. They are reconnecting with their fans.




Tusker has a long history since 1973. How come their history has not helped them build a fan base.



Corporate teams have never been crowd pullers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria or anywhere else. Being a football fan is about passion and nobody can be passionate about corporate teams. In African countries and even South America, coprorate teams are poor crowd pullers compared to community teams.

Do you know of any corporate teams that have a large fan base ?
I personally dont know of any.
In Nigeria there have been many corporate teams over the years but the most popular teams remain community teams like Enugu Rangers and IICC shootings stars.






You are right about Mathare not having a fan base. The same applies to Thika United. They have done a shoddy job at connecting with Thika residents.
But the fact of the matter is that throughout the history of Kenya the crowd pullers have always been community teams. An excellent example is Congo United who played in the league last year. They had only been in the league for one year yet they already had a core group of committed passionate fans. Something teams like Tusker can never achieve.
Shabana football club has been in the lower divisions for the past 10 years yet they still have a core group of committed passionate fans. Go look at their facebook page if you dont believe me. If they were ever to return to the top league, they too will be crowd pullers.

@Mzeiya...Put your eyes, 10th November 2012 is one week away!!

Gor Mahia is still going strong on 24 unbeaten games in all competition!!

Dan Serenkuma now top joint scorer with John Baraza, I hope he win sit, Gor K'ogalo will surely lift this cup!!!