Kenyans seem to be borrowing a leaf  from our Soccer Stars of the Year debacle
Mike Madoya

Mike Madoya

NAIROBI. — Controversy has clouded the criteria used to award the winners of last Friday’s Kenya Premier League 2017 Awards that saw Zoo Kericho’s Mike Madoya crowned the Most Valuable Player while bagging three more individual awards.

In sharp contrast with last month’s awards held by Sports Journalist Association of Kenya, what has drawn the ire of local football fans is that title holders Gor Mahia — who won the league with a 19-point cushion — had no player awarded the top prize in any of the categories.

The other issue that has raised eyebrows is that the Golden Glove Award, awarded purely on the number of clean sheets a goalkeeper kept over the course of the campaign, went to Posta Rangers’ custodian Patrick Matasi while SJAK awarded Kariobangi Sharks’ goalkeeper John Oyemba last month. According to SJAK, Onyemba has 16 clean sheets to Matasi’s 15, but KPL said the latter had more, raising questions over the statistics used to come up with the winners.

“I had kept my own statistics and we were tied at 14 clean sheets, along with Kakamega Homeboyz’ David Juma and in the next matches, which were our final matches, he (Juma) did not play and I kept another clean sheet against Bandari and Oyemba kept had another one against Muhoroni. But the statistics at KPL show that he (Oyemba) is at 16, but that does not bother me,” Matasi had explained before the SJAK awards took place.

However, upon winning the KPL award, Matasi maintained he had more clean sheets and that he and Onyemba were tied at 15 with Juma second at 14.

However, KPL CEO Jack Oguda insists the awards were above board as they were given based on the statistics availed to coaches and club captains who were making the decisions.

“We rely on the match reports given by the centre referees and fourth officials after every match. What was given by them is what we officially have on record,” said Oguda. Questions have also been raised over the nomination of a player in the New Player of The Year category, an award reserved for debutants in the league, yet he has previously played for two teams the top tier. Allegations of favouritism are also beginning to emerge after a coach claimed to have been rigged out of the top prize yet he allegedly “garnered more points” that the eventual winner. “When the vote count was done, my accumulated points were more than everybody else and it took me by surprise that I was not the winner,” said the agitated coach. — KTV.

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