The hero of Kenya’s second liberation, Kenneth Matiba was also a hero of the country’s football as he helped to shape it in many ways up early from the seventies.
Matiba formed the Kenya Football Federation (KFF) after he was floored by Williams Ngaah in the 1973 elections to control the Football Association of Kenya.
Matiba then started funding KFF through booking all stadiums across the country and always organized Gor Mahia vs AFC Leopards matches for funding purposes.
As the Chairman of the football governing body, he sought assistance from the German government in form of a tactician and as a result, Bernhard Zgoll was sent to Kenya.
Zgoll, as the Manager of the National team Harambee Stars, established Olympic Youth Centres in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and Nakuru.
These centres led to the rise of superstars of the 70s and 80s: Ambrose Ayoyi, Mahmoud Abbas, Bobby Ogolla just to name a few.
Under Zgoll as Manager and Matiba as the Chairman of FKF, Kenya won its first CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup in 1975 and successively won the cup until 1983 though under a new coach Marshall Mulwa.
During this period East African Club Championships were being exchanged between Gor, AFC and Tusker FCs for 10 years consecutively.
It is because of this good foundation set by Matiba that saw Gor Mahia win the Mandela Cup in 1987 and Harambee Stars finishing fourth in the all Africa Games Championship.