Kisii-based Shabana FC is one of the most followed and popular football clubs in Kenya, especially in Kisii, Nyamira, and the surrounding counties.
The club is currently playing in the Kenyan Premier League (FKF Premier League) following its return in June 2023, after a 17-year wait.
Unbeknownst to many, Shabana, also known as the Glamour boys, was founded in 1982 by Kisii-based businessman Dogo Khan.
Born in 1950 in Bonyunyu Village, Nyamira County, Dogo Khan was raised by his mother following his father’s death.
He attended Kisumu Primary School before joining Kisumu Boys High School, after which he ventured into business.
The businessman started Shabana Hardware and General Stores Limited which were popular in Kisii and Kisumu.
The hardware business inspired the naming of the football club, initially known as Olympic. Dogo Khan guided and sponsored the team, which produced some of Kenya’s football legends.
“I used to play for Kisumu Boys High School so when I came to Kisii, I used to go to the stadium to watch matches and there was a team called Olympic Youth. It was a youth team and every time they were done with the programme, they had nowhere to go and that is when I started a team to absorb them because I did not want that talent to go to waste,’’ Dogo Khan told Pulse Sports in a past interview.
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He revealed that he paid school fees for some of the players, including Henry Motego, the late Yabesh Nyandoro, and Mike Okoth using proceeds from his business.
“Since most of them such as Nyadoro, Henry Motego, and Mike Okoth were still in school, I was paying their school fees. Some of them were at Mosocho, Itierio, and others at Cardinal Otunga High School. That is how we started building the team,” he said.
Shabana FC started at the District level which was the lowest then, went to the Provincial league, before joining the Super League in 1985.
“In our first season in the top flight, we finished 10th, second year we were fifth and third the next season behind AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia. That is how we qualified to play the Africa Champions Cup against Kabwe Warriors of Zambia.”
The club experienced a major setback in 2006 after it was temporarily disbanded due to a dispute over its relegation from the Kenyan Premier League.
In 2008, the club was re-established and began its climb back up from the lower leagues. Shabana FC currently plays its home matches at Gusii Stadium.
The club is credited for producing some of Kenya’s finest players, with Motego and Okoth particularly becoming household names and regulars for Harambee Stars.
Other Harambee Stars legends who honed their skills at Shabana were Richard Otambo, Salim Mabruk, Hussein ‘Tigana’ Omar, Kisco Kariuki, Peter ‘Kasskass’ Kamau, Sammy Simiyu, Seif Puzo, Sylvester Mageni, Evans Ombuna, and Alfred ‘Fwaya’ Oloo.
