City Stars Fade Out: Relegation Spurs the Demise of Nairobi City Stars
Nairobi City Stars, who competed in last season’s Kenyan Premier League, have officially been disbanded.
According to the team’s coordinator, Samson Otieno, club owner Jonathan Jackson opted to dissolve the team following their relegation, citing unmet expectations and poor performance despite heavy investment.
“The club owner invested heavily in the team and was expecting results. He has decided to do away with the team after they were relegated from the top-tier league,’’ said Otieno
Otieno revealed that club players and coaching staff were informed in June—shortly after the season concluded—and formally dismissed via official communication dated June 12.
Players were notified of the looming disbandment in June just after the last season ended, and an official communication came out on June 12 dismissing all the players and the entire technical bench,’’ added Otieno.
Jackson reportedly expressed regret that his project with City Stars never developed as anticipated, and criticized the lack of commitment from players, pointing out that despite receiving full support, results were not forthcoming.
“You cannot put your money in a loss-making business year in year out. The club owner was very categorical that he would rather invest in building basketball courts rather than dealing with a non-productive entity.’
City Stars were relegated to the National Super League (NSL) at the end of last season, after finishing at the bottom of the 18-team FKF-PL league.
This leaves the 19-team NSL with an eighteen-team league with 18 participants, and it is not clear whether the Federation will fill the gap left by City Stars, which were due to play in the NSL in the 2025/2026 league.
The Nairobi outfit was first relegated from the KPL in 2016 but made their way back to the FKF PL at the end of the 2019/2020 season, which prematurely ended following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tags: Kpl Nsl League
