The rise and rise of Murang’a Seal

Little known Murang’a Seal, a private football enterprise based in Kiharu Constituency, has rejuvenated football in the vast Mt Kenya region, a game that has not brought much success in the region.

The region has seen a few top clubs unsuccessfully compete in the Kenya Premier League (KPL), with Thika’s Bidco United solely representing the region for the last three years.

The lacuna has been so huge more so after Thika United were relegated from the top flight in 2018, making football lovers from the region lose a taste for the game, with only a handful of supporters attending home matches for Bidco United, another team from the larger Mt. Kenya region which is based in Thika.

However, despite the apathy towards football in Mt Kenya region, the recent home match involving Murang’a Seal painted a different picture.

Facing Shabana FC at St Sebastien Park, thousands of the team’s supporters  turned up to cheer the home team, while the visiting side also had a multitude of fans, making fro  raucous atmosphere.

Team founder, owner and club president Robert Macharia says he never imagined that what he started a few years ago would become an institution and compete in the country's top flight league.

The businessman adds that he plans to popularize the premier league newbies in the region by playing home games on different grounds across the six counties within the mountain region.

“If our prayer is heard, we will travel across the region and take KPL matches to Meru, Embu, Nyeri all over the central region,” the Muranga Seal president said, adding that, “ I want our people to own this club and they have already started feeling as part and parcel of this club.”

He however admitted that they are afraid of struggling to honour some fixtures in the KPL, if they fail to secure a shirt sponsor.

“We have a deal with a gaming company but that is not enough, we need more funds to run a smooth campaign in the top flight, we are open to other deals as we keep talking to a few people here and there to see how we can together make this a success,” he added.

Seal head coach Vincent Nyaberi, a former Thika United player, who has been at the helm of the club for a couple of years now, revealed that they will maintain high level performance to attract more fans and change the football narrative in Central Kenya.

“We will have no choice but to perform, good results will attract a good fan base. Our team jerseys will also be available to our supporters at affordable prices,” said the Seal Boss.

The tactician noted that they will make changes in a bid to strengthen his squad ahead of the much anticipated premier league debut.

"KPL is more competitive compared to where we were, so it is obvious that we need to make changes but not as much," he highlighted.

Seal qualified for Kenya's top flight league after finishing second in the just concluded NSL championship, with 69 points after 21 wins, nine draws and losing only twice in the entire season.