Why Homeboyz RFC have opted out of Kenya Cup

Homeboyz RFC have announced their decision to leave the Kenya Rugby premiership after a decade in the national league in what they say are "structural reforms" at the club. 

In a letter to the press, Homeboyz Chairman Myke Rabar said they found the league not fulfilling their dream of growing rugby in the country. 

"We've been supporting the premiership for the last 10 years now and we are just not satisfied with the passage of rugby in the pipeline; there is no clear pathway for development of players. Thus, all our partners have come on board and said that we've been supporting sports in Kenya but without a clear way to professionalism it's pointless.

“We need to create impact in sports and we felt that will be important in the grassroots and not the top tier. Right now you're only playing to win the Kenya cup, and just that which is not the right thing," said Rabar.

Rabar explained that they are already in agreement with their players who were still in contract to remain in their academy setup while he intimated that others will be allowed to negotiate new deals with other top clubs. 

"For us I think the essence is if we are going the academy way, we need to find a way we can train coaches and help them develop the academy. So most of the players will go into coaching programs, and get level 1 or 2 and then later get into coaching. Some will obviously be allowed to transfer to other clubs to continue developing themselves,” explained Rabar.

After nearly a decade in the top flight, Homeboyz now say they will be focusing on training players in lower grade formats of the league, and would make a return to the Kenya Cup when it's viable for both the club and its sponsors. 

Rabar said they were not worried of being relegated to the lower tiers of the league, as long as there is the right format and structure that indeed supported the growth of rugby in the country. He further confirmed that they had communicated their decision to the Kenya Rugby Union, adding they respected their decision to quit the Kenya Cup. 

"I think for us we have no problem because it's not about winning the Kenya cup, it's about playing rugby at whatever level in the right structure and the right format. So we would come back in the championship and work our way up, which we have no issue with; that's where we started anyway.

“There is no urgency to say that we have to come back to the Kenya Cup so that we can win it, no. For us the question is can we play rugby in the right format, the right team and the right structure?" 

This comes a day after the organising body of the Kenya Cup league released the 2022/2023 season fixtures which had pitted Homeboyz against Mwamba in their opening match. 

This is the second time Homeboyz Rugby Club have been dropped out of the Kenya Cup, after staying out of the National league in the year 2021, during the heightening of the Covid-19 spread, saying then that the "environment wasn't friendly". 

The 2022/23 Kenya cup season will kick off on the November 26.