•Alumira sees no stumbling block in winning the title for a record fourth time this season which was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
•Established in 2014 alongside Vihiga United by the Vihiga County Government, Queens are the benchmark of the league teams, having announced their arrival with a second-place finish in 2016
Image: FILE
Good teams are defined by their attacking style of play but great teams are judged by the number of trophies they win.
Very few teams have won three titles or so in a row either in the premier league or any other competition. Only Juventus and Bayern Munich have dominated their respective leagues in recent years.
Juventus has won Italian Serie ‘A’ title eight times in a row since 2012 while the Manuel Nuer-captained Bayern have relentlessly bagged the Bundesliga since 2013 to date.
European giants Real Madrid won the Uefa Champions League in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and a similar feat was achieved by their women counterparts Olympic Lyonnais Ferminis the same period in the same competition.
Back home, Gor Mahia have prevailed in the Kenya Premier League having won it in 2017, 2018 and last year. Vihiga Queens can also be mentioned in the same breath considering their achievements in the women’s Kenya Premier League.
Despite boasting of only four years in the Kenya women’s Premier League, defending champions Vihiga Queens have perhaps surpassed expectations by winning three consecutive league titles for the short stint they have been in the top flight.
Established in 2014 alongside Vihiga United by the Vihiga County Government, Queens are the benchmark of the league teams having announced their arrival with a second-place finish in 2016 when they made their debut in the top flight. They had been crowned Division One champions in 2015.
Newly formed or promoted teams prefer to establish themselves in the division they play before shifting gears to winning a trophy afterwards but this was not the case with ambitious Queens under the stewardship of coach Alex Alumira, whose five years with the team have been remarkable.
Newcomers prioritise evading relegation more but for Vihiga Queens, they set a target for a top-four finish. Alumira said he faced criticism for setting the bar too high and many football enthusiasts thought that he was just building castles in the air.
“We had a work plan and I had vast experience in school games. I used to follow the WPL way back during the days of Western Commandos and knew that if we built a team, we would know exactly what type of team would compete. In fact, after qualification to WPL from Division One, I set a target of finishing in the top four. Let me not say what responses came my way, but they weren’t encouraging,” observed Alumira.
“People never trusted that I would prosper with the team. In the first season, nobody believed in a top-four finish. Some of them were right because 70 per cent of the players had no Premier League experience and most were young and in high school or college. However, I had seen the hunger and thirst the players had. It was our job to raise their performance to match their expectations and we tried as a team,” enthused the widely travelled tactician.
Alumira has tutored Mudete Tea FC, Chavakali United Talent Academy, Vihiga All-Stars, Vihiga United and numerous high schools.
Since its inception in 2010, the KWPL has faced a myriad of challenges. Lack of funds has seen teams dish out walkovers because of the inability to honour their matches.
Queens also faced hurdles but Alumira said the team turned their challenges into motivation. The relationship among players, technical bench and management was the glue that stuck the team together.
“Like any other team, we had financial challenges but soldiered on. I must admit I’m proud of all my players then and now for perseverance because, regardless of the situations, they have always been on top of the game.”
Reflecting on his acid test during the 2016 season, which also acted as the turning point in the fortunes of the team, Alumira said: “It was the best of my five seasons I have been with the team. These girls were playing with passion. At that time, they were only playing for a win bonus of only Sh 500. But we were playing like a team that was on a fat paycheck. It was pure hard work and when the then governor Moses Akaranga saw how they played, he immediately ordered that they are put on the payroll. They earned their sweat after being patient for 3 years. Indeed, patience pays.”
He added: “The girls truly punched above their weight. A top-four finish was the bare minimum but coming second to a well-knit Thika team under respectable coach Richard Kanyi was no mean feat.”
The western-based side has not won the league unbeaten in any of the three seasons they have been triumphant but lost just once last season, the fewest number of losses ever.
“We do lots of technical and tactical drills and insist on telepathy among our strikers. With Engesha, Situma, Shilwatso and Shikangwa, what else can you ask for?” a confident Alumira revealed as he expounded on why the team, fondly known as ‘Legacy Makers’, have been successful.
“I think we are blessed with lethal forwards who only adjust on match to match basis. With top strikers like Terry Engesha and Topista Situma, we always start a game 2-0 up. Statistics are there to prove. Last season, the two combined to score 67 goals in 28 matches, an average of two goals per game,” Alumira said in an online interview with The Star. Another Queens star attacker Cynthia Shilwatso joined Spanish side FC Longrono early this year following a trophy-laden period with the team.
“Our backline has played together for 3 seasons. The chemistry between our goalkeepers and the back-line makes work lighter. The management also believes in retention. As a coach, I believe in helping a player improve. Releasing them on grounds of performance is always painful because I feel guilty for not helping them improve and that’s why I’m paid,” a relaxed Alumira hinted.
According to Alumira, finishing second in the first year brought a feeling of contentment. Though he was surprised not winning the title, it, however, brought them closer to winning and spurred the team for the journey to the treble. Queens lost key players who got employment elsewhere in 2017, hurting the team on the pitch, but they were not to be denied their first title.
Alumira quipped that it was a herculean task winning the league in their second attempt. He said there are no better memories than being crowned national champions, especially in the tough and competitive WPL.
“It wasn’t easy. That was one of the best games we have ever played. Thika Queens were on another level and matching them, let alone beating them, was not going to be easy. That was a match that lived to its billing as a cup final—from tactics, to pace to all other aspects. Prevailing over them and setting for the much-coveted trophy was the best way to repay the hard work displayed by the team.”
The 2018 season was not smooth sailing either. The trend of losing players was unavoidable but the coach had to cut his cloth according to the size. This included rotation, adjustment of roles and player versatility.
“We lost key players but we had to cope through the rotation. I always believe in versatility so any of our players could play anywhere. That’s how we easily filled the voids. Though at times it became tricky replacing like for like,” he added.
On their hat-trick last season he said, “It was a great feeling and historical especially for the ladies. The management had all along dreamt of such to match the club motto of legacy makers.”
He described the last three seasons as gruelling because the team’s bar went higher and higher with time and there was pressure to maintain the standards.
He remains convinced that the great job being done by the technical department in dealing with the tear and wear of the players still makes the team more competitive going forward despite playing tirelessly for three or four seasons together.
Alumira sees no stumbling block in winning the title for a record fourth time this season which was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. “The coach is used to the Football Kenya Federation FKF current format which was there sometimes back. The league is divided into zones A and B. Queens is in the eight-team zone B.”
“We’ve been there before so it will not be a very difficult task to plan. It will only become tricky because playoffs are never easy. Even with three titles under our belt, the team’s hunger for more success has not diminished. Motivation is high and we can’t wait to get going once again after this tough period.”
Sometimes things don’t work on the field the way the coach wants and Alumira shades light on how he has coped with the tricky situations. “If things don’t work, as a coach you must provide solutions for players to execute. Game reading is always important and this is where my assistants Boniface Nyamu and Staus Olienge come in handy.”
Going forward, the title-winning tactician will continue scouting for the untapped talents and bring them on board. He opined that the game evolves day after day and therefore, keeping up with the tactical and technical demands is key.
“Tear and wear is not a big issue because we have great management and technical team that have a deep understanding of how to take care of the team. These girls can play together for another five years and still compete favourably.”
He further pointed out that dividing the league is retrogressive as it denies Zone B so many opportunities. With all national team scouts being Nairobi-based, it is not easy for new players in Zone B to be followed up on match by match basis as those in Nairobi. It is tedious and very uneconomical resource-wise.