Rampant age cheating, poaching of mature players and bribery continue to dog Kenya’s secondary school ball games, with coaches and games masters accused of fuelling the vice for bragging rights and quick promotions, even as Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) rolls out a data system to end the rot. 

Among those accused of the vices is Kisumu Day boys football team, the county’s reigning champions and fan favourites, who were dramatically disqualified from the Nyanza Regional Secondary School Ball games after a jury found they fielded ineligible players. 

Still on the same note, Onjiko Boys High School football team recently got banned for three years for similarly fielding six ineligible players against Kisumu Boys during the Kisumu County Secondary Schools Ball Games. 

Rogue coaches 

In a shocking tell-it-all exclusive interview on July 15, 2025, with People Sports, Homa Bay county-based Agoro Sare High School boys’ football coach Jerry Opondo blamed the annual rampant cases of secondary schools’ boys’ and girls’ football teams fielding ineligible players in school games, masters and coaches. 

Opondo, currently a teacher of English and Literature at Agoro Sare High School in Oyugis town, Homa Bay County – fondly known as “Yenga Zaire” by the student fraternity and ardent Oyugis football fans – previously coached the Ambira High School boys’ football team before being transferred to Agoro.  

He started the interview by making a sweeping statement: “In Kenya, most people are inclined to cheating.” 

“The annual rampant cases of schools fielding ineligible players, resulting in incessant petitions by various school teams, are perpetrated by games masters and coaches,” Opondo revealed. 

Opondo continued, “Before the recent introduction by KSSSA of the Players Information System (PIS) data portal to identify and weed out ineligible athletes who also compete in other ball games, cases of overage and mature football players being fielded were rampant, with all potential players from the villages recruited and fielded by games masters and coaches of school teams.” 

“Nowadays, there is a big skills gap between schools’ games masters, coaches and student football players. Student football players are not experienced, though they are skilled and talented. However, these coaches lack the requisite training and skill sets to mould these youthful players into formidable school ball games football-winning players,” Opondo explained. 

“So these school coaches resort to shortcuts, poaching talented, skilled and experienced mature and overage players who either play for National Super League (NSL) or Premier League teams, which feature in Football Kenya Federation-managed competitions. They also poach all-round, ready-made, experienced players from football academies in order to get quick results.” 

He also blamed the malpractices on the desire by schools that compete in KSSSA-organised ball games to get bragging rights that come with winning these school championships. 

Insatiable appetite  

“Schools indulge in these vices because they crave the bragging rights that come along with winning. Winning also earns the game’s masters and coaches promotions. After the 2024 East Africa (EA) schools’ ball games, coaches whose teams emerged triumphant were promoted one grade higher. The per diems that come with participating in schools’ ball games, especially at EA level, also promote these malpractices, which is against the KSSSA constitution,” Opondo disclosed. 

He similarly accused officials who officiate KSSSA ball games of favouring some schools during the competitions by turning a blind eye when the favoured schools are accused by opponent teams of these vices, adding, “Their palms are well greased.” 

Contacted by People Sports, Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS) Talent Development Officer Steve Ojwang’ concurred with Opondo’s observation about the skills gap that exists among schools’ games masters and coaches to adequately train student players.  

“Yes! These coaches lack the requisite training to mould the youthful, talented and skilled student football players into all-round players. KAS identified this skills gap among games masters and coaches,” Ojwang’ confirmed. 

Ojwang’ further revealed, “During this year’s last April school holiday, KAS partnered with some schools and held coaching clinics within schools in Kisumu, Eldoret and Mombasa cities. We equipped these school officials with basic coaching and refereeing skills as part of KAS’s efforts to bridge the existing skills gap between them and the youth, talented and skilled in various ball games such as football, rugby, volleyball, basketball, netball, among others.” 

In a separate interview with People Sports, KSSSA Siaya County Secretary David Obiero agreed with the accusations levelled against school officials. 

KSSSA’s Nyanza Regional Secondary Schools Ball Games Secretary-General Tom Thomas Odhiambo also concurred with Opondo, Ojwang’ and Obiero’s sentiments about the vices of age cheating and fielding mature student athletes. 

However, Odhiambo said that although KSSSA officials are making strident efforts to curb these vices in schools’ ball games, the SG lamented in an interview with People Sports, “Lately, the biggest emerging problem in schools’ ball games is the vice of impersonation, altering and using fake student athletes’ documentation.”