When the final whistle blew at the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos County on Sunday, June 15, fresh history was written in Kenyan football as a new champion was confirmed.

Kenya Police defied all odds to become the first team not named Gor Mahia or Tusker to win the FKF Premier League since 2010.

The Law Enforcers beat Shabana 1-0 thanks to a bullet header from Brian Okoth, to attain an unassailable lead over Gor Mahia.

A week later, they were crowned in a colourful ceremony at the Ulinzi Sports Complex after playing out to a one-all draw with Gor Mahia. The outgoing champions mounted a guard of honour before the game.

Winning the league is no mean feat, especially in a country that Gor Mahia has mastered and exerted its dominance for so long. But after a meticulous approach to the season, aided by professional planning in the background, Kenya Police finally got their first title.

Apart from the players who toiled on the pitch under the watchful guidance of head coach Etienne Ndayiragije, one person who ensured everything ran seamlessly for Police was the team manager, George Maelo.

Maelo is a former player himself who plied his trade with Sofapaka back in the day. He has had different stints at Kenya Police when they earned promotion to the top-flight in 2021 after beating Vihiga United in the promotion/relegation playoff.

He afterwards steered the team to a ninth-place finish in the 2021/22 season, then third in the 2022/23 season.

He left the club briefly but returned to his position as the team manager in November 2024 when Kenya Police was flirting with relegation. The club had made a poor start to the season, losing five games, winning one and drawing one in their opening seven games of the season.

Maelo's return coincided with the sacking of Salim Babu and his entire technical bench before Ndayiragije was brought in as well.

Fast forward to June, Maelo masterminded an impressive turnaround in form, leading the club from 17th place to winning the league.

So, how did he do it?

"First of all, I am incredibly grateful for the unity, commitment and teamwork shown by everyone from the management, to the technical bench, to the players. We all played as a team towards a specific goal. When I came back, I found a rift among the players, the technical bench and something had to change."

"We created a conducive environment where everyone had an opinion. Disagreements are normal in any workplace, but in the end, everyone believed in the project."

I keep telling my players that the next person will make you a champion, and it came to pass when we won the league.

Maelo, who is currently stationed at the Traffic Headquarters, had glowing praise for Kenya Police chairman Nyale Munga and CEO Chris Mmbwanga.

"The chairman has been present and very active in the club's affairs. He rarely misses a game and always has a word of encouragement for the players, win or lose."

He equally had kind words for head coach Ndayiragije, who has been the tactical brain behind the turnaround in form that took them from being relegation candidates to winning the league.

"He is a top-notch professional who was also a player, and that has made our working relationship easier. He is a good man, a leader and a father, very important traits that have fuelled the team to success."

Maelo's major responsibility is to ensure the welfare of the team is okay by providing the needed logistical support, especially on match days.

"I make sure all the necessary things, like where they will sleep, how they will travel, what they will eat, and their security, among many other things, are sorted out early to avoid inconveniences."

Despite being a sports team for the men and women in service, Maelo avers that the team signs players based on their football ability and whether or not they are police officers.

"From our motto 'Tucheze Tujuane', we are a community-based club where we want to police through sports. Through our interaction with the public, it allows us to identify talented players. Our current squad has less than 10 players who are police officers."

He adds that the club will willingly listen to offers for their top police players who have attracted interest from European sides, as it signifies growth.

"If you are a policeman and a player for us and a European club comes calling, we won't decline to allow you to make the step up. This is sports. When our players perform well outside there, the glory will come back to the service and the whole nation."

By winning the league, Kenya Police has earned the ticket to represent the country in the CAF Champions League next season.

It won't be their first time playing continental football after their forays in the lower-tier Confederation Cup last season, but Maelo knows the Champions League will be a different ball game altogether.

"Preparations are already underway to get us ready for the Champions League. We will sit down with the coach to know which areas we need to reinforce because we don't just want to add numbers in the tournament. We want to go there and compete."

Police will start the journey from the preliminary rounds and could earn USD 4,000,000 (KSh 516 million) if they win the whole tournament.

The other agenda on Maelo's intray is how to increase their fan engagement and numbers. This season witnessed beautiful scenes as fans slowly went back to the stadiums, with Shabana FC particularly impressing with crazy turnouts.

For Kenya Police, their fanbase has been on a steady rise, and the team manager is keen on ensuring the numbers keep growing, especially with tricky CAF matches on the horizon.

"Fans are very important because they are the first group that provides the atmosphere, they demand accountability and push the team forward."

"We will be conducting a fan drive with the sole purpose of recruiting more fans for the club. We have many police officers in this country, and that could be a perfect place to start. We want to introduce a card where the club members will be granted access to our home matches."

"We are also looking at having robust club branches all over the country. I have a vision where our club will get to the levels of Yanga and Simba"

There is no doubt that the club has lofty ambitions, and under the steady and firm stewardship of Maelo, they are destined for great things.

Top of the agenda will be to go as far as possible in the CAF Champions League and mount a successful title defence next season against a wounded Gor Mahia and other teams.

Speaking of a wounded Gor Mahia, Nairobi United won the FKF Mozzart Cup after stunning the Green Army 2-1 on June 29.

Goals from Frank Ouya and Enock Machaka were enough for Naibois to complete their fairytale run in the competition.

Gor Mahia have now finished the season trophyless, with Nairobi United clinching the ticket to the Confederation Cup.

Source: TUKO.co.ke