KSSSA: Giants locked out as Nyanza region games begin in earnest

The 2024 Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) Nyanza Region football championships got underway in Kisumu on Wednesday, with this year’s edition presenting a unique twist in terms of participants, with only one of the eight teams in the tournament having previously won the regional title.

The games that are being held at the Moi Stadium and Jomo Kenyatta stadiums, respectively, will see Kisumu County, the host county, only represented with two sides.

Migori County, which produced last year’s regional champions, will also have two teams, while Siaya, Homa Bay, Nyamira, and Kisii will be represented by one school each.

The boys’ soccer competition features eight schools split into two pools. Pool A will see Karabok, Ong’icha, Anjego, and Agai lock horns.

Homa Bay County representative Karabok is the only familiar face in the regional scene after they clinched the regional title in 2009 and went to the nationals, where they were eliminated at the semifinals stage.

Karabok knocked out regional favorites Agoro Sare in the Karachuonyo South Sub County before edging out Ringa Boys in the county finals.

Kisii County representatives Ongicha Secondary lifted the Kitutu Central Sub-county title after edging Kanyimbo Secondary 8-0 before being the beneficiary of a tribunal that locked out Sameta High School, who had beaten them by a solitary goal. 

Sameta were disqualified after it was established that they only had ten players uploaded in the KSSSA Portal.

Migori County’s Anjego School benefited from a court ruling that barred Korwa from representing Suna East in the county competition.

Anjego, who lost 1-0, was given the subcounty ticket. Defending regional champions Kodero Bara had earlier been eliminated by St. Joseph Rapogi. Anjego earned the regional ticket after a 2-0 win over Rapogi boys.

Agai Mixed will represent Kisumu in the regional games; this is after a resounding 4-0 win in the Nyakach subcounty games followed by a qualification to the county games final, which guaranteed their spot in the regional games.

Pool B will see St. Mary’s Yala, Kisumu Boys, Rapogi School, and Gekendo square off.

Yala won Gem subcounty with a 2-0 win over Uranga before edging out Ambira in a narrow 1-0 win at the county finals. The Black Saints will be looking forward to qualifying in Group B.

Kisumu Boys finally got one over Kisumu Day after KSSSA regional heads found Kisumu Day guilty of fielding ineligible players.

Kisumu Day had earlier won their semifinal match against their city rivals to qualify for the county finals, where they beat Agai in a repeat of the 2024 county finals.

As a result, Agai Mixed and Kisumu Boys are the two sides to represent Kisumu County in the games.

Rapogi Boys will be the other school that will represent Migori County, while Gekondo Secondary will represent Nyamira.

Traditionally dominant schools like Thur Gem, Barding, Kisii School, Kisumu Day, and Agoro Sare have failed to make a mark on this year’s term two games.