Uproar over poor state of City Park Stadium
United States International University Africa (USIU-Africa) fought from a goal down to win 2-1 against Parklands in the continuation of a game that had been rained off nearly three weeks ago with 30 minutes to play.
This was after the resumption of the Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) Premier League after a break to feature in the Shaban Yusuf Memorial festival in Mombasa last weekend.
However, it is the state of the City Park Stadium that has left a lot to be desired, bringing into focus the deplorable conditions of sporting facilities in the country.
Christened the ‘Home of hockey’, the City Park Stadium has been anything but as the astro turf is totally unplayable whenever there is a heavy downpour, the millions spent on it, mostly with repairing the drainage system over the years, notwithstanding.
Two weeks ago, all the three men’s Premier League matches had to be cancelled due to heavy rains and stakeholders now want a quick solution to avoid the never ending embarrassment.
“It is not the first time you are hearing that the turf is in a very bad state. Even without the rains, it is hard to play on it because it is worn out. The rains only magnifies the dire situation,” said USIU’s Wilson Otieno.
Meanwhile, men’s Premier League leaders Butali Sugar Warriors are on the verge of successfully retaining their title after a 4-0 win over Sailors saw them open a seven-point lead at the top of the log while in the women’s Premier League, USIU collected maximum points against Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology and Strathmore University.
In the men’s Super League, Bungoma Farmers have secured a direct ticket to the national league after one season.
