Sofapaka have appeared to hit back at Bandari by questioning their near-barren trophy record days after Ken Odhiambo criticised the club for bringing ‘supermarket balls’ to their last league clash.
2009 FKF Premier League champions Sofapaka have seemingly responded to Ken Odhiambo and Bandari after the former Harambee Stars assistant coach criticized them for allegedly providing ‘supermarket standard’ matchday balls during their recent league fixture in Mbaraki.
The match, which Bandari won 1-0 through an Alfred Tanui strike, took a controversial turn after Odhiambo expressed frustration over the quality of balls used, calling on the federation to enforce higher standards.
“The qualities of balls teams are bringing to the league are a joke. What kind of Premier League is this where teams can bring balls of such low standard?” Odhiambo remarked.
Bandari overcame Sofapaka 1-0 last weekend, but head coach Ken Odhiambo tore into his former employers for bringing such low quality standard balls to the game, further making a rallying plea to the Federation to do something about the situation.
“If you have no money, stay at home. Withdraw from the league if you do not have money. What are you doing if you have no resources? Go and start vending vegetables if you cannot afford balls,” he added in a fiery outburst.
Sofapaka swiftly released a statement in response, accusing Odhiambo of deflecting attention from his own coaching shortcomings despite leading one of the most financially stable teams in the league.
The club dismissed his claims as “inaccurate and misleading,” suggesting they were meant to divert focus from Bandari’s performance.
“The unnecessary claims by Coach Ken, despite his team being the home team, that our soccer balls were substandard are misleading and only serve as excuses and distractions from his coaching performance and ego, despite coaching one of the best-funded clubs.
“These claims are inaccurate and misleading, and as a club, we find it unfortunate that such egotistical statements are being used to shift focus from the actual game,” Sofapaka’s statement read.
The club also emphasized the financial struggles faced by many Kenyan football clubs, including Bandari, urging stakeholders to focus on sustainable solutions rather than post-match narratives.
“On the issue of financial constraints, we acknowledge that a majority of Kenyan football clubs are facing challenges, including his own team. Individually owned clubs are navigating even tougher financial situations, so such matters should not be used as post-match narratives.
Our local football clubs are working hard to overcome these challenges, and everyone’s priority should be finding sustainable solutions to promote our game, not creating false narratives,” the statement added.
Sofapaka did not stop there. Taking to their X (formerly Twitter) page, they appeared to mock Bandari’s modest trophy cabinet by reminiscing about their past triumphs, particularly their historic 2009 KPL title win in their debut top-flight season. The post highlighted Sofapaka’s past achievements, contrasting them with Bandari’s limited success.
Bandari, by contrast, have only won three major trophies in their history: the FKF Cup in 2015 and 2019, and the 2016 Charity Shield. Sofapaka’s response suggests they are not letting Odhiambo’s comments slide, instead reminding their opponents of their own past glories.
