Green Commandos and JOGA crowned 2026 KSSSA National Football Champions

Kakamega School’s Green Commandos and St Joseph’s Girls Kitale, popularly known as JOGA, are the 2026 Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) national football champions after emerging victorious in dramatic boys’ and girls’ finals in Thika.

The Green Commandos reclaimed the boys’ national crown with a thrilling 3–2 extra-time victory over St Mary’s School Yala at the M-Pesa Foundation Academy on August 6. The triumph ended a seven-year wait for Kakamega School and delivered a record 13th national football title for the celebrated school side.

Kakamega made a flying start when Eugene Mbeleti headed home from a corner in the third minute. St Mary’s Yala responded through Collins Otieno, whose 36th-minute free-kick levelled the contest before halftime.

Yala then moved ahead on the hour mark through Edwin Ochieng, putting the Green Commandos under pressure as the final entered its closing stages.

Kakamega refused to surrender. Derrick Wanyonyi restored parity in the 82nd minute, sending the match into extra time before Mbeleti struck again in the 110th minute to complete his brace and seal a memorable 3–2 victory.

The girls’ final was equally dramatic as JOGA captured their first KSSSA national girls’ football title by defeating Nyakach Girls in a penalty shootout.

Nyakach took the lead in the 28th minute through Iddah Matara, but their advantage lasted only two minutes before Miriam Silali equalised for St Joseph’s Girls Kitale. Neither side could find a winner through the remainder of regulation time or the additional 30 minutes of extra time, leaving the championship to be decided from the penalty spot.

JOGA eventually prevailed 7–6 in the shootout, completing an historic campaign and securing the Kitale school’s maiden national football crown.

The victories confirmed Green Commandos and JOGA as the standout football champions of the 2026 KSSSA National Term Two Games. St Mary’s Yala and Nyakach Girls finished as runners-up in the boys’ and girls’ competitions respectively.

Attention now shifts to the East Africa Secondary Schools Ball Games in Morogoro, Tanzania, with Kakamega School, St Mary’s Yala, St Joseph’s Girls Kitale and Nyakach Girls set to represent Kenya on the regional stage.

For Green Commandos, the national triumph marks a return to the summit of Kenyan school football. For JOGA, it represents a breakthrough moment and the beginning of a new chapter after lifting the national girls’ title for the first time.