By OUR CORRESPONDENT
For the second time in less than three months, the Sports Journalist Association of Kenya/Betika Coach of the Month Award has been won by a foreign tactician.
This is after the SJAK selection panel unanimously voted Kenya Police’s Burundian Coach Etienne Ndayiragije as the June SJAK/Betika Coach of the month following his title triumph exploits with the law enforcers.
Ndayiragije becomes the second foreign tactician to win the award this year after South African Carlos Kyatwa, who handles Kabras Sugar RFC, racked the coveted title in April.
He joined the club in November 2024 and transformed them from relegation candidates to league champions.
For winning the gong, the Burundian will pocket the Sh100,000 cash prize and a personalized trophy.
Ndayiragije guided Police to their maiden FKF Premier League victory after beating Shabana 1-0 on June 15 before receiving the guard of honor from record Kenyan champions Gor Mahia as they drew 1-1 in the final match of the season at Ulinzi Sports Complex on June 22.
To lift the June award, Ndayiragije beat high-riding nominees who made impressive gains in their respective fields.
Nairobi United’s Nicholas Muyoti was second for steering his club to National Super League title and the FKF Cup title, while Kenya Pipeline coach Geoffrey Omondi, and General Service Unit’s Gideon Tarus were joint third after reclaiming Kenya Volleyball Federation National League titles during the play-offs at Kasarani Gymnasium.
GSU clinched the men’s league title with a straight sets win over Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in Game Three of their play-offs finals in Nairobi on June 8.
Equally, KPC reclaimed the title they last won in 2022 after seeing off Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) 2-0 in the best-of-three play-offs series.
An elated Ndayiragije was all smiles as he held the June trophy afloat.
“I thank God. I am very happy and coming from relegation to here, it has been God,” quipped coach Etienne, adding; “Every team brought its intensity. There was no easy match. We approached every game like a final.”
SJAK President James Waindi congratulated Ndayiragije for his fairytale success.
“The Coach of the Month Award continues to reward excellence, and indeed, whip up the enthusiasm of coaches across the country and we are delighted as an Association to have Betika on board supporting this initiative,” highlighted Waindi.
Waindi confirmed; “The Award cuts across all sports, serving as a motivating factor for our coaches to go the extra mile in the field of play. We are delighted to partner with Betika as we strive to uplift the standards of sports countrywide through competitive coaching and I truly believe that the sky is the limit when it comes to our partnership.”
Japheth Akhulia, Betika Marketing Manager, remarked: “As a key stakeholder in the vast sporting ecosystem, we are proud of our sponsorship of the Coach of the Month Award, the biggest monthly award in the country at present.”
“As a corporate, we believe in the unifying power of sports that brings different cultures together and we aim to continue rewarding excellence. Coaches are our unsung heroes who continually languish in oblivion by virtue of all the glory being associated with the players they handle. By acknowledging tacticians and appreciating them for their great efforts on the sidelines, we strive to enhance team spirit, cohesion and level-headedness, hence transforming team sports into formidable entities.” Concluded Mr. Akhulia
