THE BIGGEST MATCH IN THE FOOTBALL WORLD: Disappointing talking point

Nothing illustrates better the grip that English club football exercises on supporters across the globe than the clamour to see the FA Cup final. Independent correspondents shared the Wembley experience with fans from Sydney to Nairobi

Never before has an overseas football cup tie been followed as keenly in Kenya as Saturday's FA Cup final on Saturday. The match had been the main talking point the whole week long, with Liverpool and Manchester United having their supporters, though United enjoyed the clear majority.

The match was screened on Kenyan television. There was widespread disappointment about the standard of the football, but relief among the United contingent that their team had won.

Football is the most popular sport in Kenya, as in many other African countries, and many Kenyans follow the fortunes of English clubs. Clubs in the Premiership are, by and large, more popular than their Continental counterparts. There is, however, disappointment here that the standard of domestic football does not match its popularity, and it has not kept pace with other sports like athletics and boxing.

Hezekiah Wepukhulu writes for The Nation