For football lovers, watching a match from the stadium among thousands of others is what all football fans dream of.
However, sometimes it is not possible but most fans have the chance to sit in front of the TV, or gather around at a public screen for viewing.
At such moments, commentary helps viewers to understand the game better and adds to their viewing and listening pleasure.
Here are top ten best Kenyan football commentators.
Bernard Otieno
Bernard Otieno started his football commentary career at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) in the 1980s where he hosted Kenya Sports Diary show.
Otieno’s breakthrough moment was when he was approached to commentate the 1989 Cecafa Cup which was held in Mombasa.
He has also commentated at the 1997 IAAF World Athletics Championships, 1998, 2010 and 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Torome Tirike
The media personality is famed for his football commentary skills while at Radio Citizen where he hosted a sports show alongside the late Mohammed Njuguna.
Torome Tirike later joined Mediamax Limited where he worked as a sports anchor for K24 TV and hosted a show on Milele FM.
He was later sacked in 2019 following a ruthless retrenchment process by the media house.
Sylvester Oyoo
Jack Oyoo Sylvester gained fame for revolutionising football commentary in the country, especially during the World Cup.
KBC tapped into his experience in 1987 during the All-Africa games when the station that had dominated the airwaves was in dire need of sports correspondents.
The epitome of his career was during the 2006 world held in Germany, where Italy emerged the winner after defeating France.
Ali Salim Manga
The veteran sports commentator was among Kenyan sports journalists to ever try sports commentary in Kenya.
Ali Salim Manga joined KBC in 1977 where he hosted a number of radio show including the sports show.
He has commentated Cecafa, CAF, AFCON finals in Senagal in 1992, AFCON finals in Tunisia in 2004 and the FIFA World Cup held in Germany in 2006.
Diblo Wa Kaberia
Diblo Wa Kaberia is best known for his unmatched football commentary skills while working as a sports presenter in Radio Jambo.
He stunned many with his mastery of the English Premier League and Kenyan Premier League; making him famous in the Kenyan football industry.
Diblo has also been a high school football coach for 10 years and he started commentating when he was in Standard six.
Fred Arocho
Fred Arocho works at Radio47 as a radio presenter whose forte is in football commentary.
As a former player, Arocho rarely missed any match in Kenya and itwas during one of these matches that he met Carol Radul, Radio Jambo’s program controller at the time.
She noticed his wonderful voice and this was what got him a job at the station.
Geoffrey Mwamburi
Famed for his tagline, beki wa kupanda na kushuka, Geoffrey Mwamburi is a sports journalist working at Radio Citizen.
He kicked off his career in 2009 while working for Pwani FM where he hosted a sports show and did football commentary.
Mwamburi has commentated SportPesa Super Cup final in 2017, AWCON in 2018 and the first edition of Africa Women Championship in Egypt.
Stephen Mukangai
Steve Mukangai works at Radio Maisha where he hosts a sports show with Alii Hassan.
The media personality is, most of the times, termed the most noisiest and engaging sports personality by football lovers.
He is also known for his ‘dozi dozi za premier league‘ feature where he used to deliver timely gossip on the English Premier League.
Ali Hassan Kauleni
Also known as Hassan Mwana Wa Ali, the sports journalist is among Kenya’s top commentators thanks to his coastal Swahili and deep understanding of football.
He works at Standard Group-owned Radio Maisha where he hosts a sports show on weekends and week-day match days.
Ali Hassan also appears on KTN News’ Zilizala Viwanjani as a panelist.
Jacob Icia
Jacob Icia is a sports journalist working at Royal Media Sercives’ Radio Citizen.
He hosts football shows alongside other talented presenters, that is Mkalla Mwabodze and Geoffrey Mwamburi.
Besides being a commentator, he is a sports analyst and writer who has always left football fans informed and entertained.
