This archive report was first published on 28 August 2019.
Kisumu All-Stars' Journey to the Kenyan Premier League ¶
On February 2018, a resolution was made to form Kisumu All-Stars, a community-based club that would eventually join the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) two seasons later.
The club was formed after the defunct Palos FC collapsed due to financial woes, and stakeholders decided to conduct trials across Kisumu County to raise a team to fill the gap.
The County Government was involved, and an odyssey to the KPL began with a match against St. Joseph's FC at the Moi Stadium Kisumu.
However, the financial enemy of the beautiful game, 'odyssey,' was not to vacate the quarters of the newly born All-Stars soon.
Former Harambee Stars man Nickakor Oketch, who was the founding head coach, resigned after the battle got tough due to lack of funds.
His founding assistant, Paul Ogai, had thrown in the towel earlier, joining Western Stima, leaving the struggling young All-Stars facing 'premature death' just like Palos.
Players went for months without salaries, and lack of transport to honor matches was a major issue.
At one point, the Blue Eagles fielded only eight players against City Stars in an NSL clash, but amazingly, they lost only by a 2-0 margin.
Courtesy of the Kisumu County Government, a fund drive was held midway through the 2018/19 season, and over Sh. 3.5 million was raised to mitigate the money crisis.
Under then head coach Francis Oduor, the Blue Eagles marched on until they majestically stormed KPL by thrashing Thika United 7-1 in the final day of the season.
With newly appointed head coach Henry 'Zagallo' Omino, the team is ready to take on Ulinzi in the season opener on Saturday at home.
"By the grace of God, I'm the head coach of Kisumu All-Stars, who by the grace of God, against all odds made the KPL status. We bring new energy into the league, the team is very eager and ambitious for the topflight challenge," Zagallo said.
With a new team and a new season, the Blue Eagles are ready to take on the challenges of the Kenyan Premier League.
