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The former Gor Mahia striker has weighed in on the issue which has divided opinion among a section of the club’s supporters.
Gor Mahia legend Maurice ‘Sonyi’ Ochieng has supported the decision by the Nairobi County government to name City Stadium after AFC Leopards legend Joe Kadenge.
City Stadium is set for a new face after Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja launched construction works on Thursday with the contractor given up to 16 months to complete the project.
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Once done, the facility will be known as Joe Kadenge Stadium in honour of the Harambee Stars and AFC Leopards legend who died in 2019.
The decision to name the stadium after a Leopards legend has, however, been met with some murmurs of discontent from a section of Gor Mahia fans and former players who feel the facility, which was their home ground for many years, should have been named after an ex-K’Ogalo player.
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However, Sonyi, who held the record of most goals scored in the Kenyan top flight for 47 years before it was broken last season, sees nothing wrong.
“We started playing at City Stadium in 1968 when Gor Mahia was formed and it was our home ground for all those years,” Sonyi told Pulse Sports.
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“There is no problem with the stadium being named after Joe Kadenge because it was a stadium for all Kenyans. So, if they have decided to name it after him, there is nothing wrong.
“City Stadium was a home ground of Gor Mahia but it was not Gor Mahia stadium. So, we should allow it to be named after Joe Kadenge because it is one way of honouring him.”
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Kadenge, the most-spoken about Kenyan footballer, is widely considered to be country’s all-time great.
He joined Abaluhya United, now AFC Leopards, from Maragoli United in the early 1960s, winning the Kenyan Premier League in 1966.
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An entertainer, Kadenge was revered for his deft touches and scored the fastest-ever goal in the Kenyan Premier League when playing as a winger.
He won three more league titles in 1967, 1970, and 1973 before leaving Abaluhya to rejoin Maragoli United in 1975. Kadenge died from a stroke in July 2019 after a long illness.
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City Stadium is the oldest sporting facility in Nairobi having been constructed in the early 1960s and hosted a number of events before Kasarani and Nyayo Stadiums were put up in the 80s.
It was the home venue for Gor Mahia until 2015 when the Kenya Premier League condemned it as unfit to host matches.
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It has been in a dilapidated state by then after years of neglect with promises from former Nairobi governors Evans Kidero and Mike Sonko to give it a new face not bearing fruit.
According to the new plan, the stadium will have a sitting capacity of 10,000, a FIFA standard pitch and a sandwich running track.
There will also be floodlights to enable matches be played at night, dressing rooms, fitness centre, cafeteria, offices a car park among others.
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