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The match, along with the fixture between defending champions Agoro Sare and Kisumu Day, was aborted due to unprecedented fan trouble and field invasion.

Earlier, before the kickoff of the opening match between Nyanza Regional defending champions Agoro Sare and runners-up Kisumu Day, scores of fans wielding sticks, rungus, and clubs, aligned with the two schools, invaded the venue at Cardinal Otunga High School sports ground, disrupting the start of the fixture, according to People Sport, which reported on the incident yesterday.

In an interview with People Sport, Kisumu County Schools Games vice -chairperson Milka Matiku explained that the opening boys’ match of the Nyanza Regional Schools games between defending champions Agoro Sare and Kisumu Day was aborted due to fan trouble and the invasion of Cardinal Otunga by hundreds of school fans.

“Hundreds of school fans supporting Agoro Sare and Kisumu Day invaded the match venue, forcing games officials to cancel the kickoff to ensure the safety of players. Matches involving these archrival teams Agoro Sare and Kisumu Day usually attract a huge fan base,” Matiku explained.

She  added that scores of school fans, accompanied by community supporters from the two schools, arrived at the venue aboard several buses.  “This included fans supporting other key school teams like Amibira High School, who arrived aboard over ten buses sponsored by various community school football enthusiasts and philanthropists.”

Gordon Akoko, chief principal of Agai Mixed Secondary School and coach, who has been engaged by Kisumu Day as their team tactician during the Nyanza Regional games, expressed regret that fan trouble disrupted the kickoff of the opening match.

He stated: “Due to fan trouble and the invasion of the match venue, Nyanza Regional games officials made the prudent decision to postpone the fixture between Agoro Sare and Kisumu Day and ensure the safety of players from both teams.”

Brian Lusaga, the regional games schools basketball coordinator, expressed that it was difficult to assign blame for the spectator trouble to either school team’s fans, noting, “Almost all fans were speaking in Dholuo, so it was challenging to determine which of the two teams they were supporting between Agoro Sare and Kisumu Day.”

In the meantime, the fixture between Matutu Secondary School and Sameta High School in boys’ football were also disrupted.

Tom Thomas, Nyanza Secondary Schools Term Two games secretary, explained that when Matutu School’s football team scored the second goal against Sameta during the second match of the opening day on Wednesday this week, fans invaded the venue, leading to the match being disrupted and subsequently aborted.

“Considering the security of the players, we had to halt the Matutu versus Sameta match,” Thomas clarified.

When pressed by People Sport about the rescheduling of the disrupted fixtures involving Agoro Sare versus Kisumu Day and Matutu versus Sameta, Thomas indicated that due to the unprecedented fan trouble, the Nyanza Regional Schools Games Committee had not disclosed the venues or dates for the resumption of these matches.

“The regional games committee will not disclose the match venues and resumption dates of the two aborted fixtures, not even to the media and journalists, to prevent a repeat of fan trouble and to ensure the safety of players,” he maintained.